Despite their offences, their stories touched Media personality and Actress Nana Ama McBrown to release 47 inmates in various prisons as she marked her 47th birthday.
In a partnership, Crime Check Foundation (CCF) led the release under its Petty Offenders project with funding from the Actress to clear the court fines of the released inmates.
These are young individuals, some of whom stormed their employers’ workplace to legitimately demand their pay for work done. Others fought ‘big men’ for taking their girlfriends whom they had spent a fortune on. Some stole palm nut fruits to sell to cater for their sick children and the remaining could not afford the services of lawyers to defend what they believed were legitimate actions.
One of the lucky inmates, given his name only as Francis said has been in prison ten times for petty offences. This could hold for a new prison record of recidivism.
But the Actress says ‘we all fall short of the glory of God’.
As they reunite with their families, they have sworn never to return.
Many thanks to Nana Ama Macbrown who released 47 of them on her 47th birthday in August to celebrate her day on the 15th of the same month.
“In a country without a Non-custodial law, we can only count on others with pure hearts to rescue our dear brothers and sisters who have been left to rot in rotten prisons”, Ambassador Extraordinaire of Ghana Prisons and Executive Director of CCF said, as he praised the actress.
During a phone call with the inmates, McBrown advised the beneficiary inmates to abstain from crimes that could send them back to prison. “Remember the difficulties you faced in prison and refrain from engaging in crimes,” she admonished.
The inmates are from various prisons including two local prisons, Winneba and Akuse, two camp prisons, James Town and the Awutu, and others were released from the Nsawam Medium Security and the Kumasi Central Prisons.
The inmates will be scheduled to dine with the actress at the Alisa Hotel where the celebrations will be held and later appear on her cooking show, ‘McBrown’s Kitchen’.
McBrown seeks to clear the negative perception of inmates and also give them the opportunity for a second chance in life.
Rudolph Nandi
