JUDGES DISPLACED BY NATIONAL CATHEDRAL LAMENT PRISON-LIKE NEW RESIDENCE

Judges who were evicted from the official residence in the Ridge area in Accra earmarked for the construction of the controversial National Cathedral are lamenting the sleepless night from sonic booms from aircraft taking off and landing above their homes.

The lamentation of these frustrated judges is captured by Justice Senyo Dzamefe, the President of the Association of Magistrates and Judges who decried the constant noise pollution that the judges are subjected to daily.

According to Justice Dzamefe, because the new location in Cantonments, is situated on a flight path from the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), they bear the brunt of the noising take-off and landing of the dozens of international and local flights.

Speaking at the Association’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, Justice Dzamefe stated: “…Though they [the houses] look very beautiful on the outside, they have some structural defects. Aside from the terrible noise created by the planes, the doors and other items [in the house] shake when the heavy planes fly over

“In fact, two days ago, one of my flower vases got broken because my house is the first, so I experience the heaviest noise. Yet, surprisingly, the contractor negligently failed to fix double glazed windows to curtail the noise,” he said.

He fears that the judges could be sent to their early graves from the constant assault from the aircraft buzzing overhead.

President Akufo Addo had ordered judges, particularly from the Appeals Court to be evicted to make way for the much-criticized US$200 million National Cathedral that the President confirms is his personal project.

The cathedral occupying some 14 acres of land on prime land in Accra has seen the demolition of several government buildings to make way for the religious building that critics warn would turn to a white elephant in no time.