Samini suggests rehab for Kwaw Kese

Dancehall artistes Samini is asking the courts to consider sentencing Kwaw Kese to some days in rehab and community service instead of putting him in jail.

Kwaw Kese faces a possible jail term should the court find him guilty of smoking an illegal narcotic substance in public, a crime that attracts a prison term of 5 to 10 years.

Below is Samini’s essay on Kwaw Kese’s predicament

It's really not the right time of the year for anybody to be going through what my brother and fellow artiste @kwawkese is going through at the moment. It's sad and unfortunate that he was caught slipping and has been made a scapegoat in this situation.

As a people we all break the law directly and indirectly at some point and usually get away with it.

It is only when you come into contact with the law head-on that you get the wakeup call. I'm sure my brother has regretted his actions already with the Kind of humiliation he's been through in the past few days behind bars.

We live in a society where hypocrisy and ignorance are normal ways. People litter the streets to give us cholera and are left to roam about doing it every day.

Others run red lights and pay bribes in traffic constantly. Just a few realize how many times we commit petty crimes and walk freely.

This is a case of the abuse of a substance and we need to draw the line between being a criminal and an addict on a substance. What happened to fines and rehabs for patients? Are we going to rather lock up and destroy a victim to a societal substance abuse rather than reform and rehab them to return and contribute to society?

He's an entertainer and a dad. Moreover in more developed countries such substances are seen as purely recreational when it's just a quantity for personal use.

And these laws we use here were brought in by these countries that have over the years seen the need to revisit and decriminalize certain acts including smoking just a joint. We have stuck to it like the wigs in the court rooms when it's 90 degrees blazing hot. Lol.

Our judicial system needs to be revised as those who formed it for us no longer use them. He shouldn't have used it in a public place as it's not legal in Ghana.

We collectively as an industry apologise on his behalf and beg for mercy. He can be better in society by rehab as a user than jail as he's not a dealer. A word to the wise ......#Freekwawkese