A priest has given two prisoners a second opportunity to prove their worth in society.
The priest, also a United Nations Eminent Peace Ambassador, Prophet Dr. Martin Kofi Danso paid the fines of Toufik Mohammed and Kwesi Bedia to get them their freedom.
According to 19-year-old Toufik, he stole One Hundred and Sixty Ghana cedis from his mother’s shop. His mother did not spare him but initiated his imprisonment.
“I wanted to buy boxer shots with the money. I asked my mother to buy new shorts for me and she said she was going to buy it. I could not wait,” Toufik said.
However, his colleague, Bedia was jailed for threatening and physically assaulting his mother. “Wait and you will see,” he told his mother over a piece of land his mother refused to let him cultivate.
This was after he said he had returned from an illegal mining job in which he failed to make any savings but spent his income lavishly.
“A bundle of cash can finish within minutes,” he said.
Both inmates were fined Nine Hundred and Fifty Ghana cedis and One Thousand Two hundred Ghana cedis respectively.
Unable to pay their fines led them to prison.
Through the support of Dr. Kofi Danso, Crime Check Foundation (CCF) paid their fines for their immediate release considering the ‘petty nature’ of their crime.
It was a support to CCF’s Petty Offenders project aimed at decongesting prisons through its fine-paying scheme, which leads to the release of prisoners with minor crimes.
