Primary school pupil in prison

A 17 year old class six pupil of Wamfie SDA primary school in the Dormaa district is serving a four-year prison term at the Sunyani prisons.

He told newsmen who accompanied the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister Mr Ernest Debrah, on a tour of the prison on Monday that he was incarcerated by the Dormaa Circuit Court for stealing a car tape. He has served two months of the sentence.

Mr Ishmael Baidoo-Ahmad, Assistant Director of Prisons in charge of the region said he was aware of the boy's imprisonment but his investigations showed that he gave his age as 19 to the court.

Mr Baidoo-Ahmad appealed for a review of the court's working system to help decongest prison cells.

He said some inmates had been on remand in prison cells for more than two years without the courts calling their cases. He said a prison cell meant for 20 now had 33 people.

One convict, Kwadwo Sakyi, aged 50, from Nkoranza, appearing frail and weak cried out to the Regional Minister, "please help me out of this place, I don't want to die here''. Sakyi said he was charged with murder at Nkoranza and had been on remand since 1999.

Mr Debrah gave the assurance that he would do his best to help improve conditions in the prison.