A group, calling itself Citizen’s Watch Alliance (CiWA), has raised a red flag over the upsurge of deplorable conditions in the country’s prisons.
The group consequently called on government to help improve upon the situation.
They expressed this sentiment in a statement signed and issued by its leaders— Archimedes Theorem, Amankwaa Nathaniel and Kojo Obo—and copied to Today in Accra yesterday.
The statement comes in the wake of an investigative piece by the group about the horrible situation in the country’s prisons.
According to the group, it found out that lots of the prisons have no places of convenience.
“Very pathetic, when they want to urinate, there is a gallon for all to urinate in. You can imagine the infections at the place. Until, the gallon is full, they stay in the cells with the urine, amidst the pungent smell and others,” the group sadly disclosed.
From its broader research, the group realised that not all the prison inmates have been given their jail terms, adding that some of them were on remand while others were serving their sentences.
To this end, the group called on government to initiate a better policy, through the ministry of local government, liaising with the various prisons to ensure that inmates do not get exposed to contagious diseases.
“One important recommendation is that the government of the day should consider, in collaboration with the appropriate institutions and initiate the policy of parole.
“We recommend to the government to consider the recommendation made by Amnesty International on the need for consideration of none custodian sentences,” it added.
This, CiWA said, will promote the fastness in judgment pronouncements, reducing the increased number of those who are on remand, and are yet to receive judgment.
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