Lawrence Asiamah Hanson, popularly known as Bullgod
Ghanaian entertainment executive Bullgod has urged former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to use some of his personal resources to support efforts to decongest the Nsawam Prison and establish a farm there.
Bullgod said Wontumi, who has been advocating reforms to Ghana’s prison system following a 20-year sentence, should begin with interventions that do not require parliamentary approval.
“He is not poor, right? So he should start the things he can do on his own and start pushing and advocating for parliamentary ratification,” Bullgod said.
Speaking on the Classy Morning Show on Class 91.3 FM, hosted by DJ Slim, Bullgod said Wontumi could contribute to addressing congestion and other infrastructure challenges at the prison.
“If you have some money, put it into the plantation idea you have,” he urged Wontumi, adding that “that man (Wontumi) has money. I'm sure that the money that he is said to have allegedly stolen, maybe God wants him to use it for such job where he is”
Bullgod claimed that the Nsawam Prison, which was built to accommodate about 800 people, now houses close to 4,000 inmates.
He said the prison authorities would welcome support for a farm or the construction of additional prison infrastructure.
Bullgod also backed Wontumi’s broader prison reform proposals “a hundred percent,” particularly his call for conjugal visitation.
“For the conjugal part, he would need Parliament. He has to go through the laws,” he said.
Bullgod said Wontumi’s experience in prison had given him an opportunity to see the challenges within the prison system firsthand and urged him to use his resources and influence to help address some of them.
Chairman Wontumi, through his spokesperson Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, has proposed 12 areas of reform for Ghana’s prison system, arguing that prisons should focus on rehabilitation, welfare and productivity rather than punishment alone. The proposals were outlined in a statement issued on October 27, 2026.
Wontumi’s proposed prison reforms
1. Dedicated prison hospital: Build a modern hospital to serve inmates across the country, with ambulances and standby generators. As an interim measure, he proposed emergency links with the 37 Military Hospital and the Police Hospital.
2. Better welfare for prison officers: Review officers’ salaries, accommodation and conditions of service.
3. Separate inmates according to their offences: Prevent minor offenders from being housed alongside people convicted of serious crimes, such as armed robbery. He also raised security concerns about people facing treason and terrorism trials being held with ordinary inmates.
4. Counselling and behavioural support: Provide counselling and appropriate classification for young inmates, particularly those held in connection with defilement cases.
5. Regulated conjugal and family visits: Create private areas where inmates can receive visits from their spouses and children. He argues that imprisonment should not unnecessarily damage family relationships.
6. Address overcrowding and infectious diseases: Improve accommodation and prevent inmates with tuberculosis from sharing sleeping spaces with healthy prisoners.
7. Clear policy on LGBTQI+ inmates: Establish clear guidelines for their classification and management within the prison system.
8. Support prison agriculture: Equip prison farms with machinery. Wontumi’s statement claims the Prisons Service has extensive land and skilled labour but only one tractor for farming and garbage-related activities.
9. Involve prison authorities in justice-sector discussions: Include regional prison commanders in relevant deliberations, arguing that their experience is important to rehabilitation after sentencing.
10. Modernise prison infrastructure: Encourage government and private-sector investment in modern correctional facilities and factories to support productive activities and rehabilitation.
11. Parliamentary action: Ask the Speaker of Parliament to lead discussions on prison reform, urge the Majority and Minority caucuses to work together to pass a new Prison Reform Act, and secure funding for healthcare, emergency services and agricultural equipment. He also wants relevant parliamentary committees to visit prisons and assess conditions.
12. Promote prison reform across Africa: Encourage African countries to rethink how prisons are managed, with Ghana taking a leading role.
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