A midnight fire has gutted the Sunyani Circuit Court and District Court B complex in the Bono Region, completely destroying case files, record books, computers and other court equipment, and raising urgent questions about the fate of ongoing legal proceedings.
The blaze, which broke out around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, reduced the facility to ashes, with the roof partially collapsing under the intensity of the fire and walls left heavily blackened by smoke. Bono Regional Fire Commander Assistant Chief Fire Officer Grade I Cecil Addo described the extent of destruction as total, while noting that the cause of the fire is yet to be established.
A security officer on duty at the time, Salam Baba Mamudu, said he first noticed something was wrong when he heard unusual sounds from the ceiling. “Smoke quickly filled the building. I couldn’t find my way out,” he recounted, adding that nearby residents helped him escape.
Personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) battled the inferno for approximately eight hours before bringing it under control. Police officers, firefighters and court staff later worked together to salvage whatever remained of the burnt items. When journalists visited the scene on Sunday morning, fire officers were still dampening residual flames.
Efforts to contain the blaze were severely hampered by water shortages. Fire tenders ran out of water during the operation, and hydrants across parts of Sunyani were found to be non-functional. Attempts to secure an emergency supply from Ghana Water Limited were unsuccessful, forcing crews to obtain water from a private source at Bakoniaba. The delay allowed the fire to reignite at one point before it was finally brought under control.
The hydrant failure is consistent with a broader challenge previously raised by the same regional fire commander, who had warned that many hydrants in the Bono Region had been built over, sealed off, or rendered ineffective due to low water pressure.
The destruction has triggered significant anxiety among litigants, many of whom rushed to the premises on Sunday morning seeking information about the status of their cases. Those with matters nearing judgment were particularly distressed. Authorities are expected to assess the full scale of the damage and announce how affected cases will be handled going forward.
