Remand Prisoners Appeal To GBA To Facilitate Their Prosecution

A group of remand prisoners at the Sunyani Central Prison have appealed to the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and other human rights organisations to facilitate their speedy prosecution. Alexander Kwabena Yeboah, spokesperson for the 60 remand prisoners, said although they had not been convicted, he and other inmates had spent between four and 16 years at the prison. Presentation He made the appeal when the Brong Ahafo regional branch of the GBA donated some items to the inmates last Monday. The remand prisoners said most of them had been charged with robbery, manslaughter and murder but had not been sent to court since they were placed in custody some years ago. Another remand prisoner, Wofa Abu, who said he had been in custody for about 16 years, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that �since I was brought here, I have not set an eye on the prosecutor working on my case�. Mr Joseph Grant, who had been in the cells for 12 years, appealed to the GBA to intervene, so that minors serving their sentences at the Central Prison would be transferred to rehabilitation homes. Skills development The President of the Brong Ahafo regional branch of the GBA, Mr Eric Ansah Ankmoah, promised the inmates that the association would ensure that their fundamental human rights were respected. He advised the inmates to see their incarceration not as a punishment but a means of reforming them to fit into society. Mr Ankmoah said the judicial system and the prisons administration had their peculiar challenges, and appealed to the inmates to take advantage of the opportunity provided at the prisons and acquire employable skills, so that they could make a living after serving their sentences. Overcrowding The Brong Ahafo Regional Commander of the Ghana Prisons Service, Deputy Controller of Prisons Mr Alhassan Nahii, expressed concern about overcrowding in the prisons. He noted that instead of its capacity to accommodate 600, the central prisons currently housed 972 inmates. He said rehabilitation and expansion works ought to be done at the cells to accommodate more inmates.