‘Dumsor’ hits courts, proceedings abruptly halted

Litigants and accused persons who turned up at the various courts along the High Street in Accra were left frustrated and angry on Wednesday, June 11, after a blackout—popularly known as ‘dumsor’—brought court proceedings to a sudden halt.

Lawyers, dressed in black flowing robes and grey wigs, were seen fanning themselves to manage the sweltering heat inside the courtrooms. The unexpected outage occurred around noon, forcing judges to adjourn their scheduled cases.

Justice Enyonam Adinyira, the High Court judge set to preside over the cross-examination of witnesses in the case brought by six former pastors against the Lighthouse Chapel International for alleged economic exploitation and emotional abuse, was compelled to adjourn proceedings.

 “The court cannot sit because of the power outage, and even though I am prepared to sit, it is impossible, and therefore, I have to adjourn the matter,” she stated.

The incident affected the four buildings accommodating about 14 courts, including the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

Kofi Bentil, lawyer for the six pastors, expressed disappointment over the disruption, saying it was frustrating.

“We have a two-hour cross-examination, and everybody is here. Unfortunately, we came to meet darkness in the court, and we have been waiting for more than an hour now, and the power is not back,” he said.

“The indication was that they don’t know when the power is going to come back. The judge is there, the court clerks are there, both lawyers are there, and the witnesses are there, but we cannot have the court because the court needs power to operate.”

Lawyer Bentil described the situation as an affront to justice delivery in the country.

“Honestly, it is bad. Nobody is in custody or anything, but imagine a person was in custody or anything, he will go back for one month because the power went off.”

He continued, “If for nothing at all, there will be an operation cost. All the lawyers brought here will have to be paid. The judge was there; she was prepared to sit throughout the period, but she couldn’t have it. The court clerks there will have to be paid; there is a real cost to these things. From now till the next adjourned date, you wouldn’t know what will happen.”

According to him, timely and effective justice delivery helps resolve societal issues, but any delay can worsen matters.

He urged national leadership to treat such setbacks seriously.

“We should, as a country, make sure we can avoid these things as much as possible. If power goes off in a court, there must be some sort of backup system. Now, all these courts are not working. If you can accumulate, it is serious.”

Mr Bentil proposed a long-term solution through a reliable power backup system.

“As a country, it is not beyond us to organize for our courts to have backup power. And if we cannot do a simple thing like this as a country, what can we do? Because leaders are to solve problems, and sometimes basic fundamental problems kill us,” he said.

“ You have a situation where lawyers are wearing coats, gowns, wigs, air conditioners back and forth and you can’t have a backup power? It doesn’t speak well of us as a country.”

Pastor Edward Laryea, one of the litigants in the Lighthouse Chapel case, also shared his disappointment.

“Those in charge must sit up because it is a disappointment to the citizen to be scheduled at the High Court, and then you will come, and the reason why a case cannot be heard is because of a light off,” he said.

He described the disruption as a trampling of his right to seek justice.

“Because this is an avoidable thing, and if the people in charge want the country to run, every court should have a backup. It looks like those in charge don’t take the judicial work serious. They don’t think it is important, and they are just joking with us,” he reiterated.

A court clerk, who asked not to be named, said it was not the first time the courts had been brought to their knees because of blackouts.

“It has been happening for some time now. The courts also handle life and death matters. We also deserve backup power for our work,” he said.

Ghana has been grappling with an ongoing energy crisis in recent times, prompting the government to introduce a new energy sector levy. Under this new law, car owners are required to pay GH₵1 on every litre of fuel purchased. The revenue is intended to fund the fuel needed to power electricity plants and help offset the billions owed to power producers.

The government is counting on the new levy to raise additional revenue, GH¢5 billion annually on average, to support the payment of energy sector arrears, reduce legacy debt, and ensure a stable power supply across the country.

Data from the Ministry of Finance suggests the country owes $3.7 billion in energy sector debts. Part of this debt comes from the inefficiencies of the Electricity Company of Ghana, which has struggled to curb power theft and recover debts owed to it. This new measure echoes the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) passed in 2015, which was also aimed at addressing the country’s growing energy debt. However, critics argue that ESLA funds were never used for their intended purpose, with the current Mahama administration alleging that the previous Akufo-Addo government collateralized the funds instead.

Some members of the Ghanaian public oppose the new levy, especially since it lacks a sunset clause that would indicate when consumers can expect to stop paying it.