News
Ho convicts appeal for outright clemency as COVID-19 hits prisons
Inmates at the Ho Central Prison have been agitating for an outright pardon from the government after three prisoners and six officers tested positive for COVID-19 sometime in July and earlier this month.
They insisted that their crimes did not warrant the death sentence and that they have served substantial time for their offences.
This prompted a medical team from the Ghana Prisons Headquarters in Accra to carry out a training programme recently for the inmates as well as the officers on ‘COVID-19 Risk Communication’ to allay their fears.
When contacted on Wednesday, however, DDP Andrews Dzokoto, Deputy Director of Prisons in-charge of the Volta Region said that the COVID-19 cases had all been treated and that there was currently no case of the virus at the prison.
He said that the initial cases which were recorded among two convicts were mind-boggling because they were not leaving the prison for any hard labour outside.
The third prisoner often went outside to work at the auto-mechanic base of the prison, DDP Dzokoto told The Spectator.
With regards to the officers, he said that some of them tested positive for the virus upon their return from leave.
According to him, some of the officers who tested positive for the virus were asymptomatic.
Now, officers who returned to work after their leave were quarantined and monitored for two weeks before they were allowed into the prison yard again, DDP Dzokoto said.
He disclosed that as soon as the cases were detected, the prison medical team linked up with the Volta Regional COVID-19 treatment centre, near Ho and another centre at Hohoe and their collaborative efforts yielded rapid and positive results.
DDP Dzokoto said that there were now 381 inmates at the Ho Central Prison, adding that, “We are still not admitting new convicts here.”
He told The Spectator that new convicts were now sent to the Kete Krachi Prison in the Oti Region.
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Ho
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Bekwai Circuit Court for his role in a 2022 robbery at a mining site at Manso Akwasiso in the Ashanti South Region.
The convict, Dominic Ofori, also known as Fanta, was arrested on 16th February 2026 after years on the run. He pleaded guilty before the Bekwai Circuit Court to robbery contrary to Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, and was accordingly sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.
On March 20, 2022, the Manso Adubia District Police received intelligence that a group of armed men from Manso Abodom were planning to attack a mining site at Manso Akwasiso to rob the owner of gold concentrate. Acting on the information, police mounted a coordinated operation and laid an ambush at the site.
At about 5:30 pm the same day, four-armed men arrived at the site, fired indiscriminately, and robbed the miners of their gold concentrate. The police team on surveillance intervened, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, Abu Abubakar, Musah Latif, and Gideon Takyi, sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at St Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum. Dominic Ofori escaped at the time but was later arrested and put before the court.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has assured the public of its continued commitment to combating violent crimes and bringing offenders to justice.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested 45-year-old Isaac Boafo, also known as “Duabo King,” for allegedly publishing false news intended to cause fear and panic.
Police said the arrest follows a viral TikTok video in which Boafo claimed that four officers at the Central Police Station in Kumasi engaged in inappropriate conduct with commercial sex workers during night patrols in Asafo.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (Ashanti Region) apprehended Boafo after receiving intelligence about the video.
During questioning, he admitted to creating the video to attract views and engagement online, and acknowledged that he could not prove the allegations.
Boafo also admitted making comments about the President of the Republic for content purposes and could not defend those statements.
He has been formally charged and is in detention as investigations continue.
The Ashanti Regional Police have warned the public against publishing or sharing false information on social media, noting that such acts can cause fear, panic, and damage reputations.
They said anyone found engaging in similar conduct will face legal action.
By: Jacob Aggrey
