Veteran broadcaster and Pan-Africanist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has disclosed that he has been put behind bars no less than eighteen times.

In an interview with Kafui Dey which aired on March 23, 2026, the veteran journalist shared that he has spent nights in prisons across Ghana, including Akuse Prison, Navrongo Prison, Tamale Prison, Usher Fort Prison, and has also been detained at the Police Headquarters and the cells of the Bureau of National Investigation a couple of times.

“The last time we sat down and counted, I’ve been to prison 18 times. I have been in the guard room in what is known as Gonja Barracks twice. I have been detained at the police headquarters a couple of times, and at Bureau of National Investigation cells a couple of times."

"I’ve been detained at the Usher Fort Prison, I’ve been detained at the Akuse Prisons, I’ve been detained at the Navrongo Prison, Tamale Prison and several police cells,” he disclosed.

According to the broadcaster, the longest period he has spent behind bars is six months, and in most cases he is not informed of the offence. Only once, in the early 1990s, was he formally told the charge—obstruction of justice.

The real reason Dr Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown - Kwesi Pratt Jnr reveals

“There was one time I was told why I’ve been arrested and I was actually interrogated, and that was once. This was in 1992 or 1993. I was arrested with Professor Adu Boahen and we were charged with obstruction of justice,” he noted.

Sharing one of his most difficult experiences across the prisons he has been in, he said his worst experience was at Akuse Prison, where food was served in a chamber pot.

When asked to describe feeding conditions in the prisons, he said they had a standard meal called Manpower and Zontoli.

He explained that the Manpower, which is the soup, was very light and transparent, such that one could see the few ingredients settled at the bottom of the bowl in which it was served, while the Zontoli, which is supposed to be banku, was as hard as wood.

“One of my most horrible experiences was in Akuse Prison, where they served the food in a chamber pot. There is what they call Manpower and Zontoli that was standard. The Manpower was the soup, and this soup, if you look at it, you could see the few ingredients that were used to prepare it at the bottom; it was transparent. The Zontoli is supposed to be banku, but it was as hard as wood,” he added.

I have been to PRISON 18 TIMES - Kwesi Pratt Jnr.

Full interview here https://t.co/UK7SO9ch86#KafuiDeyInterviews pic.twitter.com/hQ8PcKEhGE

— Kafui Dey (@KafuiDey) March 23, 2026