Twelve people who were standing trial for alleged criminal acts, including murder, have been discharged after evidence suggested that the state had not shown a lot of interest in prosecuting their cases.

Some of these individuals, who have been in custody for close to a decade, had made no more than four appearances in court since their arrest, this is according to a report by citinewsroom.com.

Ghana’s criminal justice system underscores the need to respect the human rights of suspects.

In furtherance of this, Article 14 of Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution is devoted to the right to personal liberty.

Consequently, it prohibits the deprivation of a person’s liberties except under the circumstances stated in Article 14 of the 1992 Constitution during arrest.

However, despite these provisions, there are instances where individuals are kept on remand without timely prosecution of their cases.

This prompted the judiciary to initiate the Justice for All Programme, where hearings are held within selected prisons for selected inmates who fall within this bracket to provide them with a hearing.

At the Nsawam Medium Prison facility, hearings were held for 24 inmates, out of which 12 were discharged, 10 were granted bail, and two were denied bail.

Kwabena Nyarko, one of the discharged individuals, who was arrested in July 2016, had been on remand since then.

Although he was granted bail in 2017, set at GH₵50,000, he could not meet the bail terms, the report added.

Considering the inaction on the part of state prosecutors, Justice Kofi Akuffo discharged the accused.

Another discharged individual was accused of stealing what he described as an Itel phone and unlawful entry.

He was granted bail set at GH₵40,000 with two sureties, but his failure to meet the conditions resulted in him being locked up for one year and one month with no court appearance.

Kofi Afum, who was charged with murder, had been on remand since 2018, despite the Office of the Attorney General advising that the accused be discharged.

The judiciary has successfully reduced cases of prolonged detention through the Justice for All programme, despite facing challenges.

Meanwhile, prison officials say they are actively working to ensure that individuals with similar stories are promptly processed through the legal system.

JKB/AE

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