Justice Philip Bright Mensah, a nominee for the Supreme Court, has proposed a novel and daring solution to address the threat of illicit mining, sometimes known as ‘galamsey’.
During his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, Justice Mensah proposed that judges presiding over galamsey-related matters, particularly those involving overseas citizens, acquire Chinese language instruction.
Justice Mensah emphasised the considerable issue created by foreign nationals, notably Chinese citizens, who are frequently involved in unlawful mining activities yet face challenges in prosecution due to linguistic barriers.
“When they are detained, especially these Chinese folks, and taken to court, it is tough since they do not know English. “Even if they understand English, they refuse to speak it,” he explained.
He pointed out that the incapacity of judges and law enforcement organisations to communicate in their native language made prosecution more difficult.
To overcome this challenge, Justice Mensah presented a bold solution:
“I would suggest strongly or I recommend that the judges who are in this, the areas where this galamsey is going on, the judges must either be taken to China for further studies in the Chinese language or they should fashion; the JTI [Judicial Training Institute] must be resourced to bring experts to come and train our judges.”
When asked by a committee member about the prospect of merely using interpreters, Justice Mensah accepted the notion but expressed doubts.
“That is also good; it adds another point. But you see the interpreters; sometimes they are a problem,” he said, alluding to potential concerns with accuracy or impartiality.
“So if the judge himself understands the language, it will be better for them to understand what he’s doing, what she or he is doing, and for us to be able to cut the menace of galamsey.”
Beyond this novel approach, Justice Mensah emphasised that Ghana’s existing Minerals and Mining legislation already provide adequate deterrents.
“First and foremost, we have these minerals and mining laws, and the offences that the law creates are deterrent enough to punish people who are involved in galamsey,” explained the minister.
He highlighted that the major difficulty is the “effective implementation of the law,” and urged increased collaboration between appropriate governmental services and law enforcement organisations.
Justice Mensah warned of catastrophic implications if galamsey is not curtailed, saying, “If we allow this to continue and in the next five or ten years we have to import water because all of our water bodies have been destroyed, can we bear it?”
However, when asked about his view on deporting foreign nationals implicated in galamsey, Justice Mensah declined to comment, noting that “the power to deport is executive. “I’m not in the executive.”
Justice Mensah’s novel proposal for language instruction demonstrates a strong concern for the environmental and economic consequences of galamsey, as well as a determination to overcome practical barriers in punishing perpetrators.
