{
  "id": 5956638,
  "title": "Lawyers, prosecutors fume over abandoned 26-year-old Upper West High court project",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/lawyers-prosecutors-fume-over-abandoned-26-year-old-upper-west-high",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-06T10:26:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Adom Online",
    "slug": "adom-online",
    "url": "https://www.adomonline.com/lawyers-prosecutors-fume-over-abandoned-26-year-old-upper-west-high-court-project/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Legal professionals and prosecutors in the Upper West Region of Ghana are expressing deep frustration over the indefinite halt of the construction of the multi-million cedi High Court complex, which has been left abandoned after two decades of false promises. The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Office of the Attorney General have confirmed that the three-storey court building remains unfinished, leaving the regional capital without proper modern judicial facilities. During a recent visit to the deserted site, legal practitioners were dismayed to find the construction crew's belongings packed away, open gates, exposed fittings vulnerable to theft, and peeling paint only three months after application. Chairman of the GBA in the Upper West Region, Siddique Ubeidu, warned that members of the legal community fear for their safety daily due to the deteriorating conditions of the makeshift buildings currently used for court proceedings. Despite assurances from national delegations and the Chief Justice, the project has repeatedly fallen behind schedule, with the last commitment stating that completion would occur within three to four months. The current state of the facility is described as a \"cemetery,\" with structural defects posing immediate dangers to court personnel and the public. Principal State Attorney, Saeed Abdul-Shakur, criticized the situation as a national embarrassment, questioning why such a critical project took 20 years to complete when other nations built similar structures in a fraction of the time. The Acting Secretary of the GBA in the Upper West Region, Crispin Wura-Sey Ziekah, emphasized the urgent need for action to avoid further deterioration of the court system. The contractor, Project Seven Limited, maintains that they have not abandoned the project, citing unpaid certificates with the Judicial Service and the central government as the reason for their absence.",
  "summary": "Members of the legal fraternity in the Upper West Region, alongside state prosecutors, have registered fierce displeasure over the stalled construction of the multi-million-cedi regional High Court complex, describing the deserted site as a “cemetery” after two decades of dashed hopes. The regional leadership of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Office of the […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Lawyers, prosecutors fume over abandoned 26-year-old Upper West High court project",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/lawyers-prosecutors-fume-over-abandoned-26-year-old-upper-west-high",
        "published": "2026-09-05T16:43:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "Eight High Court judges appointed as Chief Justices",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/eight-high-court-judges-appointed-as-chief-justices",
        "published": "2026-09-05T18:59:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}