Thirteen inmates of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison — many of whom had languished behind bars for two or more years without trial — have finally been released on bail under the Justice for All Programme, following a dramatic in-prison court sitting.
The special court session, presided over by High Court judge Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, considered 17 remand applications in total, granting bail to 13 detainees on compassionate terms, while four others were refused due to aggravating elements in their cases.
The affected inmates had been facing allegations ranging from theft to intrusion and even murder, yet had remained in detention without their trials being concluded.
Presenting the outcomes of the sitting, Justice Angelina Mensah Homiah praised Justice Simmons for what she described as a fair and judicious exercise of discretion, noting that the decision marked yet another milestone in a programme credited with sharply cutting Ghana’s remand population over nearly two decades.
Backed by historical data, Justice Mensah Homiah highlighted the sweeping impact of the initiative.
She recalled that when the programme was launched in 2007, the number of inmates on remand stood at 4,218 — representing 30.57 percent of the then-total prison population of 13,800. Sustained intervention, she said, drove that figure down to 2,083 by 2019, or 13.92 percent of the national total.
By 2024, remand levels had fallen even further to 1,500 detainees — just 10.6 percent of all inmates — the lowest point recorded since the programme began. Although 2025 registered a slight rise to 1,741 remand inmates, or 12.47 percent, she stressed that the numbers still remained far below historic levels, with the increase largely linked to case backlogs.
Justice Mensah Homiah appealed to officers of the Criminal Investigation Department to speed up the processing of bail bonds, warning that their absence from the sitting may have denied some inmates the chance to reunite with their families for Christmas.
She also underscored the powerful role of plea bargaining under Section 128 of Act 1079 in further easing congestion, citing Uganda’s experience, where more than 200 cases were resolved in just three days through structured plea-bargaining clinics.
She urged the Office of the Attorney-General to fast-track eligible matters so that inmates willing to plead guilty can serve their terms and permanently exit remand rolls.
Established in 2007 under former Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, the Justice for All Programme is coordinated by a National Steering Committee made up of key justice-sector institutions — including the Judiciary, Attorney-General’s Office, Police Service, Prisons Service, Legal Aid Authority, and civil society partners such as Paul’s Foundation.
The programme identifies qualified remand prisoners nationwide, screens their cases, seeks approval from the Chief Justice, and convenes special court sittings inside prisons to deliver long-delayed justice to detainees.