By: Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The Ashanti Regional Commander of Prisons, DDP James Mwinyelle, has expressed concern about the lack of funds to cater for some of the needs and rights such as health of prison inmates in the region, particularly the Kumasi Central Prison and Female Prison.
According to the Regional Commander, who is also the Officer in charge of the Kumasi Central Prisons, it has reaches a point that the Command has had to overly rely on generosity of faith-based organizations, NGOs and individuals to provide some of the needs of the inmates.
He mentioned for instance that, inmates had to make voluntary contributions before a sick colleague could undergo a scan requested for diagnosis at the hospital for treatment for the sick inmate.
The Regional Prisons Commander was interacting with Ashanti Regional Executives the Ghana Journalists Association, GJA, in Kumasi during a courtesy call on him.
DDP Mwinyelle was also concerned about the health dangers both the Prison officers and inmates are exposed to including contagious illnesses disclosing that, some of the inmates have contracted contagious diseases such as Chicken pox with one other recently contracting M-Pox but now recuperating, all attributable to the congestion in the facility.
“If you see how the inmates sleep in the most crowded cell here, we lock them 5.30 pm. Someone’s head goes here another one’s leg goes there, so it’s head here leg there. The bunk beds, one-two and someone sleeps under”, the Commander lamented.
Established in 1901 to hold 500 prison inmates, the Kumasi Central Prisons, now accommodates a total of 1, 708 inmates. They include convicts, 241 on remand, seven on trial and four Life Imprisonment. Eighty of the inmates are foreigners most of who are Nigerians and Burkinabes. Thirty-five of them are Lodgers from other prison centres in other parts of the country.
The Kumasi Central Prisons is the second 3rd biggest in Ghana after those of Nsawam and Ankaful but is the second most populous only after the Nsawam Medium Prisons.
He has therefore appealed to Ghanaians to support the reformation agenda of the new leadership of the Ghana Prison Service code-named ‘Think Prison 360’ with objectives such as raising more funds to support running of the prisons.
Shedding more light on this agenda, DDP Mwinyelle noted that “the reset agenda for the Ghana Prison Service covers all the areas-advocacy, talking about the prisons that has more to do with us, rebranding when it comes to the change of the name from Prisons to Corrections, that’s the best practice out there.”
The Regional Prisons Commander commended government for increasing the daily stipends of the inmates from GHC1.60 P in 2012 to GHC5.00 and hoped the government would consider raising it further.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GJA, Kofi Adu Domfeh, noted that, as the potential home to anybody at any time, it is imperative that members of the society support the Prisons.
“You never can tell when you’ll be here or your relative will be here. If you don’t help to make the place conducive for living, irrespective of the crime committed. We do err all the time. You can never tell what would bring you here. This is a potential home for everybody and so we believe it’s a societal call for journalists to be much concerned as any other person about the welfare and other developmental issues”, he emphasized.
The regional GJA Executives were conducted around facilities within the Kumasi Central Prison including the skills training centre, Prison Schools and the Distance Learning Centre to know at first hand, the conditions there.
