The Justice For All Program (JFAP), a state-led intervention established to alleviate prison overcrowding in prisons in Ghana, has deliberated three inmates from Koforidua Prison in the Eastern Region.
The Court of Appeal judge who supervised the in-prison sitting, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, emphasized that victims of crimes will not be left out of the justice for all program and deal with trials quickly.
She indicated that the judicial service has set up a mobile prison for special calls through technology as JFAP visited and took the ruling to inmates Kumasi, Nsawam, and Koforidua.
“I am confident and hopeful that in the future, criminal justice institutions will collaborate to further reduce the period between arrest and final adjudication. And this will certainly reduce the remand prisoner’s population,” Justice Asare-Botwe told the media after ruling on remanded inmates in Koforidua.
“I already asked the chief state attorney in previous discussions to pay attention to some of her staff who seemed to have really delayed in dealing with such matters, because at the end of the day, if there is an unreasonable delay, it won’t benefit the accused person or the suspect who is presumed innocent until the contrary is proved,’’ said Justice Asare-Botwe.
Justice Afia Serwaa called on judges, investigators, prosecutors, and others to play their role effectively to deal with delayed trials, faded memories, and lost evidence.
She admonished investigators and state attorneys to be diligent about not leaving the vulnerable remand inmates to languish in prison for a long period of time. She disclosed that the JFAP program will deal with some prisoners virtually in the country.
The Executive Director of POS Foundation, facilitators of the Justice For All Program, Jonathan Osei Owusu, commended the stakeholders for putting the spotlight on sending the court to the doorsteps for the prisoners.
He pleaded with relevant stakeholders and Ghanaians to advocate for ‘Community Service Bail’ for minor offenders to serve the state by sweeping the street and doing other communal labor rather than sending them to prisons.
Superintendent Francis Azure Kwakye, Officer in Charge of Koforidua Prisons, acknowledged the team for measures put in place to reduce remand population in prisons.
At Koforidua prisons, the Justice For All legal team deals with 21 pre-trial cases presented, granted 12 bail applications, 4 bail applications rejected, 3 prisoners discharged, and 2 dismissed cases as 2 prisoners were referred to psychiatric examination and report.
JFAP is currently spearheaded by the Judicial Service of Ghana, facilitated by the Perfector of Sentiments (POS) Foundation, a non-governmental organization, and coordinated by a National Steering Committee made up of the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Prisons Service, the Legal Aid Commission, and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice.
The move by JFAP was in line with article 14 clause (2), which stated, “Where a person arrested, restricted, or detained under paragraphs (a) or (b) of clause (3) of this article is not tried within a reasonable time, then without prejudice to any further proceedings that may be brought against him, he shall be released, either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, including in particular, conditions reasonably necessary to ensure that he appears at a later date for trial or for proceedings preliminary to trial.’’
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Nhyiraba Solomon Nartey
