President Akufo-Addo, has admonished Ghanaian judges to hand out stiffer punishments to illegal miners.

According to a report by rainbowradiooneline.com, he said some sentences given to them are too lenient, and therefore defeats the purpose to be achieved.

Speaking at the swearing in of four new Supreme Court judges at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, October 3, 2018, he stated that culprits need to be punished to deter others from engaging in the act.

He said that “it continues to be a source of worry, that persons caught in the act of destroying our environment and polluting our water bodies, the inheritance of our future generations because of the phenomenon of illegal mining, popularly referred to as 'galamsey', get away with lenient sentences.

As it is at certain places, the discretion must be exercised for the upper end; for the maximum.

The concept of deterrence must be an important art of sentencing policy, especially in areas of great social concern such as the fight against galamsey and vigilantism,” he emphasized.

President Akufo-Addo also used the occasion to admonish the judges to consider the highest form of punishment whenever they are to exercise their discretion in handing sentences to suspects in any of such crimes.

The four Justices who were sworn in are; Justice Samuel Marful-Sau, Justice Agnes Dordzie, Justice Nene A. O. Amegatcher and an academic, Justice Prof Nii AshieKotey. They were appointed in July 2018 to replace some long-serving justices who are retiring from the bench.