Garplay Twah River Administrative District in Nimba County is without police presence or a depot to couple with the lack of proper court structure.
Garplay situated in District 4 with over 6, 000 residents, law breakers most likely go scotch-free while the court is overwhelmed in adjudicating cases of criminalities.
Due to insecurity of suspected criminality, residents have to go to bed earlier than expected and that hampers normal businesses during night and even during day.
Stipendiary Magistrate Emmanuel Grosiah confirmed the situation to this paper that there is neither police presence, depot or detention centre to keep law breakers or offenders, thereby increasing criminal activities in the area.
He said whenever crime is committed in the township and one is tried and found guilty, there is nowhere to detain offenders and the bearing cost of transport fare from the township to Sanniquellie by the complainant is huge.
Grosiah stated further that sometimes if the complainant does not have money for the court to transfer the offenders to Sanniquellie, there is nothing it can do and that poses serious problem to residents.
Compounding the situation is the lack of the court’s owned structure as the court is seated in a private property where its owners are now demanding its eviction because of failure to pay its five-year old rent arrears.
He stated that the government has paid for two years in the 3-bedroom rented property at the cost of L$60, 000 each year 2016 to 2018; but since then, no payment has been made to the landlord.
Grosiah said the court has nowhere to go and if this continues, he shall inform his superiors for other options instead of shutting down the court on ground of no accommodation.
He indicated that for this February term of court, there are nine cases on the docket among which are criminal and simple assault cases that should to be adjudicated.
Grosiah noted that the court lacks electricity or generator and other logistical supplies like realm of sheets, desk, bench or chair and most importantly, computer as there is nowhere to store court records.
‘We are still using typewriters because there is no computer and when you have need for electricity either by using public power or generator but nothing like such, and all of these are hampering the smoothness of the court,’ the Magistrate said.
He explained how he and others use their personal monies to buy stationeries for the court and that was costing them too much with the loads of cases on the court’s docket, writes Throble Suah.
