Unlawful Incarceration in Ghana: The Violation of the Rights of Remanded Prisoners in the wake of COVID-19

Human rights violation simply indicates a situation of undermining the fundamental human dignity and freedom of an individual enshrined in statutory document accepted by a group of people, usually a constitution (Megret, 2009). These rights are considered sacred and typically not supposed to be breached unless under peculiar situations that are all enshrined in the constitution (Heyns & Stefiszyn, 2006). One of such situation where some of these human right and freedoms are curtailed is through lawful imprisonment (Ghana Constitution. 1992:14 (1) (a) (b)).

The 1992 constitution of Ghana chapter five (Ghana Constitution, 1992: art 12-33), discusses the fundamental human rights of her citizenry. Reasonable number of the fundamental human right in the 1992 constitution of Ghana have limitations of those lawful imprisonment is one (Ghana Constitution, 1992: art14 (1) (a) (b)).

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However, article 14 of the Constitution of Ghana prohibits the state or any entity from unlawful incarceration without probable cause.

Prisoners usually have most of their rights including some of the fundamental human right and freedom restricted. This is true for a number of countries including Ghana (UN Human Rights, 1990).

Even so, most of the absolute human right should still be maintain including, the right to humane and dignified treatment, right to life among others (Ghana Constitution, 1992: 13 (1); 15 (1) (2)).

However, the treatments meted to prisoner in Ghana violates most of these rights. Specifically, their housing, sleeping conditions, feeding, access to health care are gravely undermined and violated (Adjei et al., 2008; Alex, 2016; Dogbe et al., 2016). Of course, there are also innocent people who are trialled, convicted and wrongfully put in prison but at least these individuals saw their day in court.

However, the biggest violation of human rights and personal freedom in the criminal system in Ghana is the issue of remand prisoners (Seth, 2015). Remand prisoners are suspected criminals who’s cases are on trial but not yet ruled on or are waiting to have their day in court (Orjiakor et al., 2017). In effect, these individuals are not convicted of any crime by a court yet. As a result, they have the right to enjoy most of their fundamental human rights, according to the constitution of Ghana (The Republic of Ghana Judiciary, 1992).

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On the contrary, suspected criminals are put into remand custody and are literally forgotten off in the current judiciary system in Ghana. They spend long period, sometimes years and in worst case scenario die in remand. As at the end 2018, 12% of the total population of prisoner in Ghana indicating 1,786 suspected individual were serving time in various prisons in Ghana (World Prison Brief, 2018). Currently, the Ghana prison service puts the number at 1846 representing 3.3% increase in roughly a year (Ghana Prison Services). According to the documentary by Seth (2015), most of these individuals had their on-file days in court overdue but had not seen the courtroom. Some individual have been on remand for close to 9 year for crimes that even if they were convicted would probably earn them a lesser sentence in prison (Seth, 2015).

Again, in the prison facilities, remanded inmates are mix with the general population (prisoners who have been trialled and serving their sentence) encompassing harden criminal, murderers among others (Seth, 2015). This is a direct contravention of article 15 (3) of the constitution of Ghana.

The health neglect, torture, poor feeding and sleeping conditions meted out to the convicted prisoners also applied to remand prisoner since they accommodate them together. In effect, almost all their fundamental human rights including to a large extent their right to life are violated according the Chapter 5 of Constitution of Ghana. Specifically, Articles 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 19 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana are violated by the state with respect to these remand prisoners.

It should be noted that legally putting suspected criminals in remanded custody during their trail is an acceptable judicial protocol due to fear of absconding, denial of bail resulting from the nature of crime or lack of sureties for bail among others. This is true and even the constitution makes provision for that (Ghana Constitution, 1992: 14 (1) (c)). However, the length of time, neglect, the poor and inhumane condition under which they are kept, just as the convicted prisoner, in these correctional facilities are certainly not lawful. This is a gross violation of the fundamental human rights of all the prisoners whether convicted or suspected criminals in remand custody.

Nevertheless, it is particularly painful in the case of suspected criminals judging that they might be innocent of the crimes that they have been suspected of committing after subjecting them to these inhumane treatments.

If you probe into the issue, the blame game is the answer you get from all the stakeholders whitest human beings rot in jail. The judges complain of too many cases, the prosecutors including members of the police force, CID and state attorneys complain of lack of logistics, finance, witness etc to continue cases (Samuel, 2012). Also, reasons like the physical distances from courts, frequent adjournments, pressure on the budget of the prisons have been put forward to explain the blatant delay of justice (Samuel, 2012).

These reason are far from acceptable when the freedom and dignity of close to 2000 people are at stake. Some suspects whose crimes are as trivial as stealing a bunch of plantain or a half bag of rice still remain in custody for months if not years. Of course the law is clear and these are crimes which they have to answer for. But is a bunch of plantain or bananas worth 10 years of a person’s life?

Even if it is worth it, why not follow the due process and sentence the suspect accordingly. S/he can apply for an appeal or at least begin to do the time if their cases are finalised. Keeping them in limbo is one of the worse treatments they are force to endure not knowing their faith. This is regardless the inhumane conditions under which they are kept in the various prisons across the country.

While I try not to go off topic, let reflect on how many affluent people find themselves in these prison systems in Ghana. It virtually an insignificant number but we know they commit the heinous and unspeakable crimes in our society with impunity.

Of course, this is not surprising, because the whole genealogy of the prison system is laced with aristocracy (Reiman & Leighton, 2015). Vego (2009), articulate this relationship by applying the Marxism theory in the pioneering book on the intersection of the law and the society (an interesting read for socio-legal research perspectives). So it is understandable that the poor, socially deprived (forming labels likes ghetto youth, hustlers and addicts etc) and the vulnerable are the majority in prison.

In fact, the socio-economic and legal analysis of crime and incarceration will probably require a number dissertations to exhaust. If you are born with a golden spoon in your mouth, you will not appreciated how easy you can be attracted into a life of crime (but well, what do I know).

However, as discussed in the penultimate paragraph, the law is supreme and incarceration, whatever the motives for establishing the system are, has proven to be a useful tool to check social vices in the modern society (Mathiesen, 2005). Although, pragmatic and social discretions like non-custodial sentences in applying the law will also do the country’s youth (who form a greater portion of the prison population) more good, I only request that timely intervention and due diligence be followed in trail and convictions of suspected criminals. The practice of keeping them in custody unduly must stop.

Predominantly, we are currently in difficult time regarding the Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic globally. Ghana is having its share of the panic and insecurities with the continuous spread of the deadly virus. With borders, business, school, and other services shutdown and our recent lockdown, the virus is certainly stretching social-economic existence to it breaking point. In all this, the central message for fighting the virus is social/physical distancing and proper personal hygiene practices like regular hand wash and sanitising your hands. This is something that the ordinary Ghanaian is capable and should comply with to safe lives. The real question is, will this also be realistic for the Ghanaian suspected or convicted prisoner? With our prisons being over crowded at 56% (representing over 5000 human beings above holding capacity) and cell made for 10 sometimes holding 50-80 people, it will be difficult if not impossible to observe social/physical distancing(The Story Behind Nsawam Prison; You Will Be Amazed, 2017; Ghana Prison Services). Without diving into the unhygienic conditions under which prisoner are kept, the sleeping arrangement alone presupposes a high chance of rapid spread of the virus if the epidemic gets to them.

I am therefore to appealing the authorities to pay particular attention to our prisons in this COVID-19 period. An outbreak in these environments will cause an unprecedented tragedy. One can only image the anxiety these prisoners are currently going through judging from their sleeping conditions (Prisons Uncovered pt1, 2010). This is certainly worse for remand prisoners who may truly be innocent but unduly incarcerated. I offer my sincere sympathy.

Your country has become your biggest enemy and human rights violator. I entreat all stakeholders including the government, Ghana prison services, Ghana health Service to put in place proper measures to ensure the virus do not find its way into our prisons because I really do not know how we will contain it once it gets there. Something for the expert to ponder over and maybe plan for contingencies in the likely event that the virus actually spread to these prisons.

I will however, commend the stakeholders including the Ghana prison service for the current strict restriction put in place regarding access to the prisons. Although not enough, it is a step in the right direction. More stringent and pragmatic ones like improving the hygiene situation and spacing the population (even if temporal accommodation structures can be put in place in the short term) in this period of COVID-19 will probably be best.

I will conclude this piece by reiterating that, prison can be a reality for anybody, remember that there so many innocent people in prison especially remand inmate. You may think it is not your reality and therefore none of your bothers but if COVID-19 has taught humanity anything, I think it is the importance of collective responsibility. The saying in Ghana that ‘prison can be anybody’s second home’ is popular for a reason.

Author: George Sakyi Asumadu

Position: Social Psychologist and MPhill Candidate Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa, Faculty of Law University of Pretoria.

Reference:

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Prisons Uncovered pt1. (2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix4LDIqV6YA