"Excess Bail is Pre-Trial Punishment: Time for a Dramatic Review", HON. Haruna Iddrisu

Ghana’s Constitution is clear: every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Bail exists to guarantee attendance at trial, not to punish before conviction. Yet for many Ghanaians, bail has become the punishment itself.

Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, former Minority Leader and MP for Tamale South, has called for a “dramatic review” of bail conditions, and the evidence backs him. Across our courts, magistrates and police prosecutors are setting terms so harsh that suspects spend more time on remand than they would if convicted.

What does “excess” look like? It’s a trader accused of minor theft ordered to produce 5 landed-property owners as sureties when she knows none. It’s a driver facing a traffic offence hit with GHS 100,000 cash bail when the maximum fine is GHS 2,000. It’s suspects told to report to police stations 3 times daily, surrender passports for local cases, or produce medical reports that cost more than the alleged offence. While cases drag for months, people sit in remand because they are poor, not because they are dangerous.

The results are damning. Over 40% of Ghana’s prison population are remand prisoners. CHRAJ and Legal Aid keep finding people who have spent 3-4 years awaiting trial for offences that carry 1-year maximum sentences. That is “detention by poverty”, not justice. It also violates Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution.

Hon. Iddrisu’s call is not for “no bail”. It is for “smart bail”. Bail must be proportional to the offence. You cannot use armed robbery standards for misdemeanors. We need binding guidelines from the Judicial Service and Attorney General so magistrates stop “bail shopping” where justice depends on which court you enter.

A dramatic review should include 4 things:

1. Bail schedules tied to offence type and income, like Kenya and South Africa use.
2. Non-cash options — recognizance bail, employer letters, community leaders — especially for first-time offenders.
3. 30-day automatic review if trial hasn’t started, to end indefinite remand.
4. Training + data — publish average bail amounts by court so the public can see where excess happens.

Yes, strict bail matters for violent crimes and organized crime. No one is asking courts to release dangerous suspects. But when justice means “freedom for the rich, cells for the poor”, public trust dies.

Economic hardship makes this urgent. With inflation biting, fewer families can mobilize cash or property. If we don’t act, our prisons will keep filling with the poor awaiting trial.

Bail should be a bridge to trial, not a wall to freedom. Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has forced the right question: Are we detaining people because they’re dangerous, or because they’re poor? Answering it honestly will decongest our prisons and bring justice closer to the fairness the Constitution promises.