A 37 year-old prisoner who recently escaped from his penitentiary in Ghana was recaptured in Bo town on Saturday, August 16th, 2008. Ghanaian Juston Kweku was serving a two-year sentence for failure to pay a one million-Leone loan in Rutile, Ghana.
According to reports gathered at the Pujehun prison headquarters, the recaptive was barely three months from his release, as he was sentenced to his two years on November 27th, 2007.
As a result of his inability to repay the loan, legal action was instituted against him and the matter was later transferred to the Pujehun Magistrate court, where he was subsequently tried and jailed.
In spite of the eight months he has already spent in prison, plans are underway to recharge him for his recent illegal exit.
The main Pujehun district prison has an aggregate inmate count of 26, including 3 females, but the facility there extremely lack pipe borne water and electricity.
In an interview with Daniel Marah, the second in command at the Pujehun prison, on the current status of the Pujehun prison, he explained that the non-availability of electricity and water supply poses a serious security threat to lives and property in that community.
In the absence of water and electricity, prisoners would be tempted to escape during the process of fetching water outside of the prison precinct, he said.
Marah confirmed that JSDP had earlier helped them with a water well, but it gets dried up most often and could therefore hardly meet the demands of the prisoners.
“There are two categories of prisoners in our custody, which include: remand and sentenced prisoners,” he said, “but only sentenced prisoners are allowed to go out on assignment.”
A total of 18 officers, including four female officers, mann the prison, but most of the new recruits are without accommodation.
By Solomon Rogers