A Court of Appeal judge, Justice Angelina Mensah-Homiah has chided investigators to be diligent and not leave vulnerable remand prisoners to languish in prison without any reasonable justification.
This was after the discovery of an identified case of an inmate overstaying in the prisons for several months despite being discharged by a court.
During an in-prison special court session to adjudicate remand and pre-trial prisoners’ cases at the Kumasi Central Prisons as part of efforts to fast-track justice delivery and decongest the prisons under the Justice for All Programme, it came to light that the inmate whose case had been struck out by the Nkawie circuit court as far back in February 2024 was still locked up.
The accused was arrested on the suspicion of robbery.
“This is very unfortunate, and we will ensure that this prisoner who has overstayed for five months leaves the Kumasi Central Prisons today. This should not happen to any Ghanaian citizen. If the court in its own wisdom has found no case against an accused person and the court had discharged the person, on what basis should an investigator bring the person back to prisons?,” Justice Mensah-Homiah questioned.
Acting Officer in Charge of the Kumasi Central Prisons, CSP Alex Adjei explained that the investigator brought the inmate with a valid warrant, hence they had to admit him.
CSP Alex Adjei, Acting Officer in Charge of the Kumasi Central Prisons
But Justice Mensah-Homiah however indicated, she will probe further and ensure similar situation doesn’t occur in any of the country’s prisons.
The Court of Appeal Judge who also chairs the Steering Committee of the Justice for All Programme tasked facilitators of the programme to look beyond just securing bail for remand prisoners.
“Stakeholders in the justice delivery system must also focus on expeditious trials which aim to reduce the time between arrest and final adjudication. Swift trials help ensure that justice is served in a timely manner”, she said.
Out of the 31 cases adjudicated at the Kumasi Central Prisons under the Justice for All programme, 3 inmates were discharged unconditionally, 2 cases were struck out, 13 inmates were admitted to bail, whilst 13 inmates were refused bail.
Executive Director of POS Foundation, Jonathan Osei Wusu said they are working with the judiciary to further improve the justice system.
“We are not just looking at the justice for all court sitting, the judiciary together with the Foundation are also looking at other legislations such as the Community Service which is currently before cabinet, and the parole among other legislations to be able to block the loophole and make sure that whilst the justice for all is reducing the remand population, there are concrete legitimate legislations” that are introduced into our system.
The Justice for All intervention had over the years brought relief to vulnerable remand inmates who as a result of lack of legal representation and other factors could’ve spent years in prison without trial.
Source:onuaonline.com