The inmates, who had been detained for over two or more years without trial, were granted bail on lenient terms following a special in-prison court sitting presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmons of the High Court Criminal Division.

The sitting, which saw 17 total applications, resulted in bail for 13 individuals.

Four applications were denied due to aggravating circumstances in their cases.

Alleged offences ranged from murder, theft, and intrusion. 

Their bail ranged from the sum of GHS 50,000 to GHS 200,000.

Justice Angelina Mensah Homiah, who presented the outcomes, commended Justice Simmons for her judicious exercise of discretion.

She said the granting of bail for these 13 individuals was the latest success of the programme credited with drastically reducing Ghana’s remand prison population over nearly two decades.

Justice Mensah Homiah provided compelling statistics demonstrating the programme’s systemic impact.

“In 2007, at the programme’s inception, the remand population stood at 4,218, constituting 30.57 percent of the total prison population of 13,800. 

“By 2019, following sustained intervention, the remand population had fallen to 2,083, or 13.92 per cent of the total.

“In 2024, the figure reached its lowest point at 1,500 remand inmates, representing just 10.6 per cent of the prison population,” she said.

She said the 2025 data showed a slight increase to 1,741 remand inmates 12.47 per cent of the total, which officials attributed to ongoing case backlogs but remained significantly lower than historical figures.

Justice Mensah Homiah called on investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to expedite the processing of bail bonds.

She said their absence from the prison sitting potentially delayed the inmates’ chance to spend Christmas in their homes.

She emphasised the role of plea bargaining under Section 128 of Act 1079 as a critical tool for further decongestion. 

She cited a successful example from Uganda where over 200 cases were resolved in three days through plea bargaining clinics.

She urged the Attorney General’s Office to expedite such cases to allow eligible inmates to plead guilty, serve their sentence, and go free, thereby permanently reducing remand lists.

The Justice for All Programme was initiated in 2007 under the leadership of former Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood. 

Its operations are spearheaded by a National Steering Committee comprising stakeholders from the Judicial Service, the Attorney General’s Office, the Ghana Police Service, the Prisons Service, the Legal Aid Authority, and civil society groups like Paul’s Foundation.

The programme operates by vetting nationwide remand lists, pre-qualifying inmates, and obtaining approval from the Chief Justice before holding special court sittings within prison walls. 

This latest sitting at Nsawan was one of three held simultaneously across the country, underscoring a continued national commitment to ensuring that justice is delivered for all citizens.

ALSO READ:

• SDA Church pays fines for 11 inmates at Nsawam Prisons

• 12 discharged from Nsawam Prison as part of Justice for All programme

Arrested and detained since October 31, 2018, the old man had been in prison for six years because he could not satisfy a one hundred thousand Ghana cedis bail.

At the adhoc court sitting inside the Nsawam medium security prison on Wednesday, it was revealed that state prosecutors had within the period, failed to issue advice for the case to progress.

The sitting judge, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo who felt empathetic towards the weak old man, was swift to discharge him.

She ruled that “since the Attorney-General is yet to issue advice on the case, and the accused person looks frail and old, he is discharged.”

Prior to him being discharged, however, the judge asked him to shake and move his hands. He was also asked to stand and take three steps forward.

Curiously though, unlike other inmates who were emotional after being discharged, John Okoe Mensah was indifferent about the fact that his liberties have been restored after close to six years of being caged.

He walked out of the adhoc court sitting as though nothing had happened.

Christopher Kester was among 12 pre-trial inmates at the penitentiary who had been left to languish in prison unjustifiably for years without trial.

He was charged with the offence of murder.

While narrating the circumstances that landed him in prison to the High Court judge, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo on Wednesday, Christopher Kester said he relocated to Ghana on the advice of a friend who “deceived” him to join his scamming business.

According to the accused person, he succeeded in defrauding a lady. However, during the sharing of the loot which was supposed to be 60/40 with his host keeping the lion’s share, his friend out of greed insisted on keeping 70% of the loot.

That decision, according to Kester, forced him to pack out of the house in anger.

He further narrated to the court that he hired the services of a sex worker that night but unfortunately, the lady died after satisfying him in bed.

Subsequently, he was arrested and put on remand at the Nsawam medium security prison.

The trial judge, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo who granted the clemency to the 37-year-old, warned the accused person to desist from scamming people.

The judge also expressed her displeasure with Kester’s motive for relocating to Ghana and said she would have denied him the liberty he was eventually granted if not for the delay in procuring an advice from the Attorney General’s office for the case to move forward.

Speaking with JoyNews’ Legal Affairs Correspondent at the Nsawam medium security prison, the 37-year-old convict said the prison experience has been transformational.

When asked what his next move is, the Nigerian said he has no plans of returning home as he intends to stay in Ghana a little longer.

Christopher Kester was among 22 pre-trial inmates at the Nsawam medium security prison who had their liberties reinstated on Wednesday through the Justice For All programme.

This was after they were discharged by an ad hoc court in the penitentiary as part of the Justice for All programme.

Additionally, one inmate was acquitted and discharged, while ten others were granted bail. Two inmates were denied bail. Most of the prisoners, who had been detained for various offenses including murder and unnatural carnal knowledge, had been languishing in the Nsawam prison for years without trial.

Addressing journalists after the hearing, Court of Appeal judge with additional responsibility as a high court judge, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, lauded the Justice for All program and urged investigators to work diligently to prevent pre-trial inmates from being unjustly left to languish in prison.

In efforts to improve prison conditions, stakeholders in the justice delivery system are aggressively pushing for the Community Service Bill to be passed into law.

Addressing reporters at the entrance of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, Executive Director of Perfector of Sentiment, Jonathan Osei Owusu, said the bill, if passed into law, will significantly improve prison conditions and save the state avoidable expenditure in Ghana’s prisons.

ALSO READ:

Ghana’s oil revenue increases to US$840m in first half of 2024

Sports Minister admits ‘financial challenges’ in completing Youth Resource Centres