Twenty-one inmates held on remand at the Tamale Central Prison have secured bail following a special court session organised under the Justice for All Programme (JFAP), an initiative aimed at addressing prison congestion and improving access to justice for inmates awaiting trial.

The exercise involved the review of 37 applications from remand prisoners. At the end of the hearing, 21 inmates were granted bail, while two were discharged unconditionally.

The court proceedings also resulted in four inmates changing their pleas, leading to their conviction, while three cases were struck out. Additionally, three inmates were referred for psychiatric assessment, and four bail applications were rejected after the court considered the circumstances of their cases.

Speaking to journalists after the session in Tamale on Monday, Justice of the Court of Appeal of Ghana, Angelina Mensah-Homiah, highlighted the growing impact of the programme in reducing overcrowding in the country’s prisons while strengthening trust in the justice system.

She disclosed that data from the Ghana Prisons Service shows Ghana’s prison population currently stands at 13,620 inmates, made up of 11,875 convicts and 1,745 remand prisoners.

Justice Mensah-Homiah noted that when the programme was introduced in 2007, remand inmates accounted for 30.57 percent of the prison population. However, that figure has since dropped significantly to 12.81 percent, demonstrating the effectiveness of the initiative.

According to her, the programme provides an avenue for inmates who have spent extended periods in custody without trial to have their cases reviewed and determined more quickly.

She emphasised that the initiative forms part of broader efforts to safeguard the constitutional rights of accused persons while ensuring that justice is delivered within a reasonable timeframe.

The Justice for All Programme is implemented through collaboration between the Judicial Service of Ghana, the Ghana Prisons Service and other stakeholders within the justice sector.

Officials say periodic court sittings held in prisons under the programme remain essential in preventing unnecessary prolonged detention and sustaining progress in the country’s prison reform efforts.