Addo-Kufuor visits Selormey & Mallam Issa

....at the Nsawam prisons
There was frenzied jubilation at the Nsawam Prison yesterday, when a familiarisation visit by the Acting Minister of Interior, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor nearly turned into a rally. Loud cheers of "asieho, asieho" emanated from the cells, while prisoners ignoring the rains crowded at the forecourt of the prison yard chanting, "we want amnesty, amnesty, amnesty..."

The inmates would not budge despite attempts by Dr. Addo-Kufuor to stop them.

Dr. Addo-Kufuor met with Victor Selormey, former NDC Deputy Minister for Finance and Mallam Isa, former NPP Sports Minister behind closed doors. Both former ministers looked frail and were using walking sticks.

The Minister visited the female block where he donated five bales of used clothes to the inmates and later visited the carpentry workshop, the male cells, where he presented seven bales of used clothes and one of the condemned cells.

At a gathering with inmates, Dr. Addo-Kufuor said government is planning to build a modern prisons in the country to ease overcrowding in the system. He promised that Prison Officers' barracks would be rehabilitated alongside those of the Army and the Police.

An inmate at the condemned cell, Mohammed Abdulai, 47, who has served 11 years, appealed to the government to grant them unconditional amnesty since most of them have reformed.

The top hierarchy of the Prisons Service including the Director General, Mr. Richard Kuuire, Officer of Medium Security Prisons, Mr. Ben Quaye and officials of the Interior Ministry accompanied the minister.

Abdulai went down on his knees and said: "We apologise through you to the President and the victims and families of our heinous crimes that they should forgive us. We have deeply regretted for what we have done. Please grant us unconditional amnesty."

He also appealed to the government to increase the feeding fee of inmates to enhance their daily meals, adding that health conditions in the prisons are deplorable, so the government should channel more funds into that sector.

He said due to financial constraints most of them who have served 15 to 18 years could not hire lawyers to appeal on their behalf and called on the government to address that issue.

Mr. Richard Kuuire appealed to the government to provide the Prisons Service with two security vans to convey prisoners, particularly the hardened ones to court and hospital. He said the Service faces a problem of overcrowding; authorised inmate capacity of 7,152 has shot up to 11,554 indicating overcrowding of 61.5%. He suggested that government should grant amnesty to prisoners who have committed minor offences because their release will not pose any danger to society.

Mr. Ben Quaye complained about the deplorable situation of the Nsawam Prison and called on the government to rehabilitate it.

He said almost all the blocks in the male yard are leaking badly. He called for an extension of the prisons so that prisoners on remand could be separated from convicts.

Mr. Quaye said the major source of income generation to the institution is a 30-hectare palm plantation and it is their hope to extend it to 60 hectares soon. He said plans are far advanced to introduce citrus farming, which would be done inconjuction with some NGOs.

He called for the rehabilitation of the access road to the prison.