[ 2014-11-21 ]

Man freed after 35 years on remand for manslaughter
It was a very pathetic scene at the Ankaful Prison
Cape Coast in the Central Region when a man who
was accused of manslaughter and put on remands for
35 years was finally set free.

Moro Zuta, it was revealed, had spent the 35 years
in four prisons namely Nsawam, Kumasi, Winneba and
Ankaful.

This came to light when POS Foundation, a human
right organization with the Centre for Law and
Development Policy at GIMPA Law School took its
'Access to Jus­tice for Remand Prisoners'
programme to Ankaful and Winneba Prisons.

The programme was initi­ated to reduce remand
prison­er's population in the country as well as
work around reforms to address the issue in
enhancing criminal justice sys­tem.

The Access to Justice Proj­ect seeks to reduce
overcrowd­ing in prisons by setting up special
courts to adjudicate remand prisoner cases in
prisons ­throughout the country, with the support
of the judici­ary, office of the Attorney
Gen­eral, the Ghana Prisons Service and the Ghana
Bar Associa­tion.

Kuta, is said to be suffering from men­tal
diseases.

When Kuta was asked about the number of children
that he has, he disclosed that "I have 200 hundred
children made up of 100 girls and 100 boys, a
situation which brought tears to the people who
were around.

The judge, therefore, dis­charged him.

In all, three judges; Justice Constance K.
Hometowu, Justice Abdullah Iddrisu and Justice
C.J. Honyenuga presided over the 56 cases at
Ankaful and Winneba Prisons.

Daily Guide observed that 31 cases were held at
Win­neba, while 25 were held at Ankaful.

Thirty-two remand prisoners were granted bail, 11
were dis­charged, while 13 had their applications
refused, and all the cases held were charges of
murder and manslaughter.

Addressing the press after the programme, the
Executive Director of POS Foundation disclosed
that this year’s project was expanding its scope
to cover prisoners in Ashanti, Western and Central
regions.

He noted that one-third of Ghana's prison
population consist of prisoners who were detained
while awaiting trial.

The Executive Director pointed out that reports
indicate that 31.5 percent of the prison
population is in pretrial status, while detainees
serve more time in detention await­ing trail than
the actual sen­tence for the crime requires, a
person who is arrested or detained but has not
received trial within a reasonable period is
entitled to unconditional release or release
subject to conditions necessary for reappearance
for judicial proceedings.

Source - MyjoyOnline

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