Prisons service urges families not to abandon inmates

The Ghana Prisons Service is calling on families across the country to support relatives serving prison sentences rather than turning their backs on them.

The appeal was made by Deputy Superintendent of Prisons in charge of Advocacy, Communication and Gender at Kumasi Central Prison, Rose Ampofowah Tweneboa Kodua, during this year’s “Inmates Love Rekindle” programme.

The annual initiative, organised by the prison’s Gender Unit and Inmates’ Welfare Department in February, seeks to reconnect inmates with their loved ones and rebuild family ties that may have weakened during incarceration.

DSP Tweneboa Kodua explained that the event creates an opportunity for prisoners to spend meaningful time with family and friends, reminding them that they are still valued despite their situation.

In an interview with Adom News, she expressed concern that many inmates are abandoned once they are jailed, with little or no contact from relatives. According to her, this isolation can affect their mental well-being and undermine efforts to rehabilitate and prepare them for reintegration into society.

She noted that the programme forms part of the Ghana Prisons Service’s “Think Prison 360 Degrees” initiative, which focuses on strengthening relationships between inmates and their families as part of the rehabilitation process.

DSP Tweneboa Kodua encouraged relatives to take advantage of the month of love to visit incarcerated family members, forgive them, and offer encouragement to aid their reform.

The event also received support from pupils of Yonso Project Model School at Jamasi in the Sekyere South District of the Ashanti Region. As part of their Red Day activities, the students donated drinks, soap, toilet rolls and chocolates to inmates.

Founder and Executive Director of the school, Kwabena Danso, urged the public to change their perception of prisoners, stressing that not all inmates are hardened criminals.

He said many have shown remorse and undergone rehabilitation, and therefore deserve forgiveness and a second chance from their families and communities.

Mr Danso added that the children’s donation was intended to instil compassion and a sense of social responsibility in the students while supporting the welfare of inmates.

Jacqueline Nana Tutua