The Role of Troxovi in Adjudicature

Abstract

Traditional adjudication which was presided over by traditional rulers and religious priests and backed by supernatural entities lost grounds to the constitutional courts established by the colonial authorities under the laws of the Gold Coast. The Native Jurisdiction Ordinance of 1883 instituted by the colonial administration curtailed the judicial powers of the traditional authority to settling minor issues. Although the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance also banned trial by ordeal which was believed to be controlled by supernatural forces, the phenomenon has not only assumed different dimensions but is also on the ascendency in contemporary times. This work, utilizes qualitative methods to explore the search for justice and the process of adjudication in troxovi shrines, the types of cases that have “fallen within the jurisdiction” of the shrines through the prism of rational choice theory. It is argued that aggrieved persons patronize the troxovi shrines due to their perceived want of the truth in constitutional courts, the absence of bribery and corruption since any attempt at corruption by any shrine operative attract immediate supernatural sanction. It is apparent that justice in the troxovi shrines will continue as long as justice continues to elude the aggrieved in the constitutionally mandated courts.