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Twelve persons on trial for alleged crimes, including murder, have been released after evidence indicated that the state had been inflexible in advancing their cases.
Some of these individuals had been in custody for nearly a decade and had made only a few court appearances since their arrest.
Ghana’s criminal justice system is grounded in the respect for human rights. Article 14 of Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution, which addresses human rights, specifically protects the right to personal liberty.
According to this article, depriving a person of liberty is only permissible under the conditions specified during an arrest. Moreover, an arrested individual must be brought before a court of competent jurisdiction within 48 hours. The court then decides whether to grant or deny bail. If there is an unreasonable delay in the trial, Article 14(4) of the Constitution empowers the court to release the suspect, either conditionally or unconditionally.
Despite these safeguards, some individuals remain on remand without timely prosecution of their cases.
To address this issue, the Judiciary introduced the Justice for All programme, which conducts hearings within selected prisons for inmates fitting this criteria.
At the Nsawam Medium Prison, hearings were held for 24 inmates. Among them, 12 were discharged, 10 were granted bail, and two were denied bail.
Kwabena Nyarko, one of those discharged, had been on remand since July 2016. Although he was granted bail in 2017, set at 50,000 Ghana Cedis, he could not meet the bail conditions. Due to the inactivity of state prosecutors, Justice Kofi Akuffo ordered his release.
Another discharged individual, who had been accused of stealing an Itel phone and unlawful entry, had his bail set at 40,000 Ghana Cedis with two sureties. His inability to meet these conditions led to his detention for one year and one month without any court appearance.
Kofi Afum, charged with murder, had been on remand since 2018, despite the Office of the Attorney General advising his release.
Samuel Owusu Addo, who had been on remand for nearly 11 years on murder charges, was also released when state prosecutors failed to provide evidence regarding his case or the status of his last court appearance. Justice Kofi Akuffo ordered his discharge.
Additionally, a 67-year-old man and a 51-year-old man were discharged after spending seven and eight years, respectively, at Nsawam Prison without active prosecution.
Despite these challenges, the judiciary reports that such cases have significantly decreased since the introduction of the Justice for All programme.
Prison officials are working to ensure that individuals with similar situations receive proper legal processing. The PoS Foundation, which facilitates the programme, is calling on the cabinet to accelerate the consideration of the Community Sentencing Bill.
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