Apart from your freedom that is denied you, life in Ghana prison is like living in hell, says ex-convict, Emmanuel Odoom.
“The food you are given in the prison isn’t food that you eat at home; it is food that is cooked by prison standards..and as for meat and fish, we eat them once in a blue moon,” Emmanuel narrated on The Sonto Show on Agoo TV.
Emmanuel explained he was arrested for stealing a car he has no idea about; a fellow left the vehicle in his care which later turned out to be a stolen vehicle and was arrested for that.
He ended up in prison after the fellow told the police the stolen vehicle is with him.
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Emmanuel revealed some intriguing things to host Akua Sonto about his stay in prison.
“The food served there was so terrible that it was not fit for a dog. The banku had no salt and the soups were so light that you could see your reflection in it,” Emmanuel stated.
For a little comfort and some money to get by, one had to make the hard choice of sacrificing their anus for their fellow men’s pleasure he explained. An older man or serving inmate with money will have sexual intercourse with an inmate who allows it in exchange for giving him good food and basically providing a comfortable life for him.
He furthered said that the state of the prison is a very disturbing sight to the eye, people are arranged like sardines making it difficult to breathe. He noted that the prisons are overcrowded and he has video recordings of it.
“In short Ghanaian prisons are overcrowded making it difficult to breathe and I have video recordings of it, you can just imagine when there is disease outbreak,” he added.
Gambo, Another ex-convict’s confessions on ‘The Sonto’ show will give you a glimpse of life in Ghana’s prisons and ultimately, the schemes and activities of an armed robber.
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‘Wee’ in the prison cells, yes, the hard drug ‘wee’ and other illegal materials prohibited in the cells were smuggled somehow by inmates into the cells.
Asked whether he has evidence to what he is saying he answered emphatically yes and will provide them upon request.
He furthered that, the Prisons are a place where little or no attention is paid to inmates’ health; inmates are left to their own fate when they fall ill.
Gambo recounts how he his manhood no longer erect as a result of excessive beatings from the prison officers.
He stated that he called a journalist friend to narrate the ordeal they go through as inmates and unfortunately for him after the stories were aired the officers find out what he did and as a result of that, he was beaten mercilessly and this left him impotent.
He added that Nurses and Health Aides who operate infirmaries and clinics within the prison facility are quack and not qualified.
“Nurses and Health aides who operate infirmaries and clinics are quack and unqualified, that’s how I will like to call them. They are inexperienced and don’t know drugs very well, I was once given a bad injection and that worsen my situation resulting in chronic pains all over my body,” Gambo noted.
He indicated that he sometimes had to prescribe drugs for himself.
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Speaking to host Akua Sonto on the issue, human right lawyer, Lawyer Mary Ohenewaa Afful noted that, it’s unlawful and illegal for a prison officer to brutalize or assault an inmate thus an action can be taken against such officers and the inmates be compensated.
Lawyer Afful added that inmates through their families can sue prison officers, the prison centre, and the ministry of health, among others bodies who take the law into their own hands.
She indicated that there are competent human rights lawyers who will be willing to carry the case. She furthered that, she will also avail herself of the justice and fair treatment of inmates should she be called upon.