Marital rape is not socially and culturally desirable - Osei Prempeh

Accra, June 2, GNA - Mr Kwame Osei Prempeh, Nominated Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, on Friday said a charge of marital rape had the potential to destabilize a lot of Ghanaian marriages.

"It is legally desirable but when it comes to the social and cultural life of our people, it can create a lot of problems." Mr Osei Prempeh, who was answering questions before the Parliamentary Appointments Committee, said a law is a tool for social engineering; "so let us use it to improve the social life of the people and not to destroy it".

He said it would be culturally unacceptable for a married woman to "walk to a Police station and tell the Charge Officer that I have been raped by my husband".

On death penalty, the Nominated Deputy Minister said it should be abolished because most of the time it became a softer way of punishing criminals and that innocent people might be killed.

Mr Osei Prempeh said people, who committed serious crimes like armed robbery and murder, should be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole so that they would live agonising mentally for the rest of their lives, adding; "this would be a befitting punishment". He called for the introduction of community service for lesser crimes like petty stealing.

"Sometimes I ask myself why should a person, who has stolen a bunch of plantain be sent to prison at all? Such a person should be taken to his or her community to work so that everybody would see the kind of punishment he or she has to endure."

On the Transfer of Convicted Persons Bill, which when passed would give the Government the power to ask for the transfer of Ghanaian prisoners abroad, Mr Osei Prempeh said it would help Ghanaians, who were being brutalised in bad prisons abroad to come home. He said the prime concern of the Government in these matters was the right of the Ghanaian.

The Nominee said it was obvious that somebody kept in a better prison abroad would not agree to such arrangement to come home to continue his prison sentence but for those, who were suffering it would be a relief.

Mr Abraham Kwadwo Kwakye, Nominated Deputy Minister for Brong-Ahafo, said he would work closely with the Regional Co-ordinating Council to improve on the quality of life for the people in the Region. On child labour, which is prevalent in fishing communities in the Yeji area, he said he would work diligently to abolish it. Mr Kwasi Blay, Nominated Deputy Minister for Western Region, identified chieftaincy dispute and illegal mining as the main problems confronting the Region.

He said chieftaincy was a galvanizing force for development so he would work with the chiefs to eliminate factors that gave rise to such conflicts.

On illegal mining, Mr Blay said he would dialogue with those engaged in the practice and encourage them to form associations that would give them stronger bargaining power to negotiate for concessions.