According to Esther Ahulu, the African Programs Officer for the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), citizens in the nation are frequently denied access to prompt justice because they cannot afford legal representation.
She cites a variety of causes for the issue, such as the incapacity of those with less means to pay for legal counsel and certain difficulties the Legal Aid Commission is now facing (LAC).
She said that people who typically shouldn't spend even a day in detention wind up being in police custody for more than the required 48 hours in an interview with The Law on JoyNews.
"I don't know what else we can do since there has been a lot of education on this, but I think the issue is that people lack access to legal support because it is difficult and expensive for people to just get attorneys to help them in the process.
"We all know that the Legal Aid Commission is the state agency that is required to carry out that duty, but they too face their own difficulties, thus this seldom occurs... You are familiar with how the police, security services, and other governmental agencies work.
She questioned, "I mean, there's intimidation in the process and all that, so you're even aware that you're not meant to spend more than 48 hours with them, but you're with them so what do you do when nobody's there to help?"
According to Esther Ahulu, there are situations when the Legal Aid Commission is not even aware of individuals who have been detained and would benefit from legal representation.
She backed demands for the Ghana Case Tracking System's establishment because of this (CTS).
"I think incorporating technology into the system is the best course of action. If this CTS functions as planned, you cannot retain someone longer than 48 hours. You will keep the individual, but the system will indicate someplace so that other stakeholders are aware that an issue exists.
As a result of having all these institutions on one platform, this system will now be helpful. It is designed so that the Legal Aid Commission receives a notification as soon as someone reports anything or as soon as the police detain someone and enter the information into the system, she said.