Justice Mensah proposes Chinese language training for judges to combat ‘galamsey’

Supreme Court judge nominee Justice Philip Bright Mensah has put forth a unique and bold recommendation to combat the menace of illegal mining, locally known as ‘galamsey’.

During his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, Justice Mensah suggested that judges presiding over galamsey-related cases, especially those involving foreign nationals, should receive training in the Chinese language.

Justice Mensah highlighted the significant challenge posed by foreign nationals, particularly Chinese individuals, who are often involved in illegal mining activities but face difficulties in prosecution due to language barriers.

“When they are arrested, especially these Chinese people, when they are arrested and sent to the court, the difficulty is that they don’t speak English. Even if they can understand English, they refuse to speak English,” he explained.

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He noted that the inability of judges or law enforcement agencies to communicate in their language makes prosecution increasingly difficult.

To address this hurdle, Justice Mensah proposed a radical 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 questioned by a committee member about the possibility of simply using interpreters, Justice Mensah acknowledged it as an option but expressed reservations.

“That is also good; it’s another point. But you see the interpreters; sometimes they are also a problem,” he stated, implying potential issues 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 innovative suggestion, Justice Mensah stressed that Ghana’s existing Minerals and Mining laws already contain sufficient 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,” he said.

He emphasised that the primary challenge lies in the “effective implementation of the law”, calling for enhanced collaboration between relevant state services and law enforcement agencies.

Justice Mensah warned of dire consequences if galamsey is not curtailed, stating, “If we allow this to go on and in the next five or 10 years we are importing water because all our water bodies are destroyed, can we bear it?”

However, when pressed on his stance regarding the deportation of foreign nationals involved in galamsey, Justice Mensah declined to comment, stating that “the power to deport is executives. I’m not in the executive.”

Justice Mensah’s unique proposition regarding language training reflects a deep concern for the environmental and economic impact of galamsey and a desire to overcome practical obstacles in prosecuting offenders.