Prisoners fail to escape at the opportunity

Duayaw-Nkwanta (Brong Ahafo) - More than 150 prisoner's clamped into a small resettlement camp at Duayaw-Nkwanta in the Tano District ignored a rare opportunity to escape when the roof of their camp was ripped-off during a severe rainstorm which hit the area at the weekend.

Although they forced open the gate of their cells, their action was not to escape but to rescue two officers in the security man?s shed which had collapsed on them during the storm.

Eight of the prisoners and the two officers, Emmanuel Tetteh and Hayfron Aboagye who sustained minor injuries after being hit by flying objects were treated and discharged at the Duayaw-Nkwanta Catholic Hospital. At the time of the incident, which happened in the night, there were only seven prison officers on duty with only two guns. The acting officer in-charge of the camp, DSP Leonard Dah disclosed this when the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Donald Adabre, inspected the extent of damage on Sunday.

He said the officers on duty sought the assistance of the police who provided them with eight men to guard the prisoners at a time it was still raining. DSP Dah said the prison officers quickly organised themselves to convey the prisoners to a new settlement camp under construction at Koforidua, near Duayaw-Nkwanta, in a rickety tractor. He said that it was difficult to transport the prisoners to the new site because the camp has no means of transport and appealed to the government and philanthropists for assistance. Mr Adabre commended the prisoners for their rare action.

He urged them not to despair but to turn over a new leaf to enable them to be accepted back into the society after serving their jail terms. Mr Adabre gave assurance that everything would be done to construct a kitchen and other facilities at the new settlement camp soon. The Chief Superintendent of Prison (CSP), Stanley Boahene, who is the deputy commander of the region, expressed concern about the neglect of the various settlement camps. He therefore appealed to the government to improve upon facilities at the prisons.