The Public Relations Officer of Ghana Prison Service (GPS) CSP Courage Astem has described as dubious and erroneous, a viral video which showed an alleged ex-convict narrating what he had suffered while he was serving as an inmate at Nsawam Maximum Correctional Centre.
The video was an excerpt of an interview on Accra based UTV in which the ex-convict, a male, was seen telling the tale of how he was imprisoned for ten years ago due to narcotics related crime.
Narrating his alleged story to the reporter, he listed a number of illegal activities that has been happening while he was in prison and some of which he took part. He mentioned how sodomy is rife at the prison and how the inmates with tacit connivance with the Prison wardens sell illicit drugs, describing it as a buoyant business in the prison. The young man seen in the video also mentioned officers like Opetey and Schandorff as the officers who he worked with closely in executing their illegal trade while serving his sentence at Nsawam Maximum Prison.
He again accused the prisons officers of stealingg food and clothes donated by benevolence people and resold same items to them, adding that foods served in the prison have no nutritional value.
However, reacting to these plethora of allegations in an interview with Noel Nutsugah the host of Statecraft on Zylofon 102.1 FM, CSP Courage Astem pointed out that the ex-convict has a dubious identity making what he was alleging somewhat inaccurate.
“The guy in question is of dubious identity he claimed he was released on June 4,2021 but our discharge records shows there was no single discharges on that day so that brings to question Jim’s claim of release”
CSP Atsem also mentioned that that the ex-convict may be courting for public sympathy and could be peddling falsehood about him being an ex-convict since their check in the service’s database revealed no such name as the young man gave.
“The ex-convict who was later identified as “Kobby” by his inmates might have been released around 2017 -2018 and not as recent as he wants everyone to believe; some inmates confirmed that he might be doing all of those false narrations and half-truths to gain some public sympathy which he will later capitalize on for other parochial interest”
The PRO however admitted that the country’s prisons are faced with myriad problems but he insists that the prisons services is still firm on its core mandate of providing safety, good welfare, reformation and rehabilitation to all prisons across the country. He however was quick to add that the prison service has started an investigation into the matter.
