Twelve people who were on trial for alleged criminal offences including murder were released after evidence showed the state was determined to prosecute their cases.
Some of these individuals have been in custody for nearly 10 years and have only appeared in court four times since their arrest.
Respect for the human rights of suspects is at the heart of Ghana’s criminal justice system. To promote this, Chapter 5, Section 14 of the 1992 Constitution, which deals with human rights, provides for the right to personal liberty.
As a result, the law prohibits the deprivation of a person’s liberty during arrest, except in the circumstances provided for in Article 14 of the 1992 Constitution.
However, an arrested person may not be held in custody for more than 48 hours without being produced before a court of competent jurisdiction. The court is free to decide whether to grant or refuse bail. In cases where the trial of an accused has been unduly delayed, the court is further empowered by section 14(4) of the 1992 Constitution to release a suspect with or without conditions.
Despite these provisions, there are cases where cases are not prosecuted in a timely manner and people are detained.
To address this issue, the judiciary has launched the “Justice for All” programme, whereby selected inmates who fall under this category will be given access to hearings by holding hearings in selected prisons.
At Nsawam Medium Prison, hearings were held for 24 inmates, of which 12 were released, 10 were granted bail and two were refused bail.
Among those released was Kwabena Nyarko, who was arrested in July 2016 and had been in custody since then. He was granted bail of 50,000 Ghana cedis in 2017 but was unable to meet the bail conditions. Given the inaction of the state prosecution, Justice Kofi Akufo released the accused.
The other person who was released was accused of stealing an Itel mobile phone and trespassing. He was given bail of 40,000 cedicalis with two sureties, but was detained for one year and one month without being allowed to appear in court as he did not meet the conditions.
Kofi Afum, who was charged with murder, had been in custody since 2018 despite the Public Prosecutor’s Office recommending that he be released.
Another prisoner, Samuel Owusu Addo, had been in custody for nearly 11 years on suspicion of murder, but Justice Kofi Akufo released him after the state prosecution had no evidence on the circumstances of his case or details of his previous court appearances.
A 67-year-old man and a 51-year-old man were also released after serving seven and eight years respectively at Nsawam Prison without being actively prosecuted in the case.
Despite these challenges, law enforcement officials say there has been a significant drop in such cases since the introduction of the Justice for All program.
Meanwhile, prison authorities are working to provide legal access to others with similar experiences.
The PoS Foundation, which is behind the programme, has urged Cabinet to expedite consideration of the Community Sentencing Bill.
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