Jailed former Youth and Sports Minister, Mallam Yusif Issa is yet to be sent to the Nsawam Medium Security penitentiary and is still being held in the holding room of the police headquarters, four days after his sentencing, Chronicle can reveal.
According to Deputy Director of Prisons, Ben Quaye no official information has filtered through from prison headquarters indicating when Mallam would be brought there to begin the four-year jail sentence slapped on him by the fast track court last Friday.
Quaye spoke to the Chronicle in a short interview yesterday. He described the situation as highly unusual: "Jack Bebli and the other people he was sentenced with were brought into our custody the evening of the day the sentence was imposed."
He would, however, not assign any reason for the apparent delay when asked, but was quick to add that the Mallam "is possibly being given some time to sort out certain things" before he embarks on the journey to his permanent place of confinement.
Mallam, who was dismissed as Sports Minister, is expected to be handed over to the prison authorities today where he would possibly end up at the much spiteful and dreaded temporary remand centre, James Fort.
It is from there that he will be transferred to Nsawam, Chronicle learnt.
With his sentencing, Mallam can no longer be in police custody and should be handed over to prison authorities in whose custody he will be kept until the end of his jail term or possibly freed by 'Ala', a presidential pardon, legal sources confirmed to the Chronicle.
The 42-year-old former People's National Convention (PNC) Acting Chairman was slapped with a four-year sentence over his role in the loss of $46,000 meant to be paid as winning bonuses for the Black Stars.