Rejoinder, Ghana Prisons Service- Former prison inmate accuses officers of supervising illegalities

The attention of the authorities of the Senior Correctional Centre, formerly Ghana Borstal Institute has been drawn to the 6 th October, 2014 Joy FM's Super Morning Show where a former inmate of the Borstal Institute Moses Louis Ametame said among many things to the host Kojo Yankson that the Centre and its officials are unable to rehabilitate young offenders but rather supervise illegalities.

The authorities would like to take this opportunity to react to the ex-Borstal boy's accusations which are full of inaccuracies and falsehood which can best be described as an attempt to glorify himself and cast a slur on the image of the Centre.

First of all, this former inmate who now parades himself as a pastor\ evangelist was actually sentenced to the Centre for 3 years on the charge of stealing and not assault as he told the host of the programme. 

This immediately brings up a picture of someone who is not trustworthy and this reflects throughout the interview.  The interview is replete of many examples of the lack of his credibility.  Eg.  He alleged that during his detention between 2004 and 2007 Prison officers who were supposed to be supervising inmates allowed them to be watching pornographic movies and sometimes were made to pay for it.  This allegation would have been worth investigating if he had mentioned some names.  For as it stands, it is difficult to believe him since at that time, the Borstal Institute was not endowed with TV sets as at today by the kind courtesy of our partners.

In brief, what we would like to say is that between 2004 and 2007 there was not even a single TV set in their dormitories to watch pornographic movies. 

Secondly, Moses Louis Ametame told his host that majority of Prisons Officers smoked marijuana and that some officers were engaged in robbery cases during his stay in the facility.  However, there are no records of such incidents. It is important to add that the Prisons Administration will investigate the allegation that officers smoked marijuana and also assisted inmates to acquire and use the substance during the former inmate's stay at the facility.  We would like to emphasize that smoking of marijuana by Service officials is one of the offences spelt out clearly in our statutory books and officers found culpable will be dealt with accordingly.

Thirdly, the former inmate charged that an NGO named Angel Zoe Foundation based in Accra donated GHȻ10,000 to the Ghana Borstal Institute which was embezzled by the officials of the Centre.

What the authorities find disturbing about this allegation is the fact that this NGO was not operating at the Centre during his stay.

From where and how did he get this information which is false? It is false because Angel Zoe Foundation since its operations has never donated any cash to the administration for the use of the Centre.  Rather, it had on occasions donated basic working tools and seed capital personally to inmates who were going on discharge for their use. The allegation of cash donation to the Centre therefore falls flat in the face of the facts.

The authorities wish to state that the Prisons Service has opened its gates to journalists and civil society groups for them to join hands with the Prisons Service to reclaim young lives from crime.

Towards this effort, there are many NGOs, agencies, philanthropists and many well-wishers who provide support to the Borstal Institute to enable it discharge its mandate successfully. Just like the Angel Zoe Foundation, other NGOs and religious groups have contributed invaluably to the welfare of the boys at the Centre because they recognize the yeoman's job the Centre is doing.  ICGC, Holy Temple at Frafraha for example, during the 2014 academic year, donated GHÈ»3,819 as registration and exams fees for 27 boys at the Centre.  This same religious group also sank a mechanized borehole to provide water for the Centre in the wake of water crises that hit Accra and its environs in 2013.

Likewise, many well-meaning NGOs have taken up the challenge of providing for the needs of these young offenders who need all sorts of assistance to be able to turn round their lives.  Some are being sponsored by benefactors who sponsor their fees through Senior High School through to university level even after discharge.  Some of the inmates benefit from religious/moral activities to improve upon themselves and Moses Louise Ametame is one of the beneficiaries hence he is now an evangelist.

We would like to assure the general public that the Borstal Institute is not a hopeless institution as Moses Ametame tried to colour it.  Instead, it is operating with its trusted partners some of whom have been named above to reform and reclaim young lives.

The Centre can boast of very qualified and experienced Counselors and Psychologists who assist in case management and provide both individual and group therapies as a way of facilitating the reformation and rehabilitation of these young offenders.

Apart from these counseling programmes, there are skilled training and vocational programmes such as ICT, Auto-mechanic and Electricals, Ceramics and Horticulture, Tailoring and Shoemaking, Beads making, Carpentry and Farming.  These programmes are run by qualified Prison staff supported by their partners and are available to all boys of the institution.

We want to point out that the Centre being a human institution, there are bound to be non-conformists who may indulge in activities contrary to the rules and regulations of the Institution.  However, as a regimented institution, such bad nuts who default are taken on in accordance with our rules and regulations in order to keep our status-quo.  A case in point worth mentioning is the aftermath of the UN Rapporteur's visit when some personnel at the Centre who were found to have violated the existing rules in respect of treatment of juveniles were taken through a Service enquiry and those found culpable were sanctioned appropriately.

We would like to assure the general public that the Centre will continue to discharge its duties faithfully in accordance with its mandate even in the face of the many challenges facing the Centre just like other units of the Ghana Prisons Service.

We would like to bring on board all well-meaning Ghanaians to join us in this noble fight to reclaim the lives of our unfortunate brothers who have fallen foul of the law.

It is unfortunate that persons like Moses Ametame who should rather go on a crusade to drum up support for the Centre will be denigrating the Centre in such a manner.

Most importantly, we wish to appeal to all media houses to cross-check information they have about Ghana Prisons Service before they go on air to avoid a repetition of such a programme which has embarrassed the Centre.