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Support feeding of prisoners – officers appeal to public
• ASP Kpiriko (left) receiving the items from NCO Bakuri (right) on behalf of the service
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Prison Service in the Upper West Region, Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP) Joseph Kpiriko has appealed to non-governmental organisations and other benevolent bodies to support the feeding of inmates at the prison.
He mentioned that the daily cost of feeding inmates which was pegged at GH₵1.80 per head was woefully inadequate to provide quality and nutritious meals for the inmates and called on the public to assist government take care of the convicts.
The PRO stated this when the Narcotics Control Commission (NARCOC) in the region donated assorted medical drugs to the Wa Central Prison to enable it stock its infirmary and sufficiently treat patients.
The drugs mobilised by the Commission from various pharmaceutical companies comprised 4,800 tablets of Ibudol plus, 150 tablets of albendazole USP 400, 600 tablets of Lufart Forte, and 60 tablets of Tininadazole 500 for treating malaria, general body pains and other first aid needs.
ASP Kpiriko explained that although there had not been a day that the inmates had gone without food, the quantity of meals served was not adequate but could be improved if they received food donations and other welfare needs.
He described the gesture by the NARCOC as ‘heaven-sent’ and timely and made a call to the public for donation of more drugs to the prison.
He stated that prior to the donation, the infirmary at the prison could barely treat sick inmates due to the shortage of essential drugs and said although some of the inmates had skin infections that needed attention, there were not enough drugs to treat them.
“We have an infirmary and three trained nurses who are officers so we are able to handle some of the ailments and also admit sick inmates temporarily, however, if the patient requires further medical attention, we take them to a general hospital”, he said.
Narcotic Control Officer (NCO) Issahaque Bakuri for his part said that the donation was to meet an earlier request by inmates for drugs to stock their infirmary as according to them, there were no drugs to treat common sicknesses.
He said that a greater number of the inmates were youth and needed sympathy, love and support from the public to make them feel at home and have the urge to turn over a new leaf.
NCO Bakuri said that NARCOC was working harder to mobilise more drugs and mattresses for the inmates.
The officer disclosed that aside the donation, the commission as part of its mandate provided regular counselling services to inmates with narcotic drug addiction to help them break the addiction.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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