Ghanaian prisons conditions are unlikely to be improved to match those in the US, says private legal practitioner Kingsley Amoako-Boadu.
He highlighted the unrealistic expectation of comparing Ghana’s prison system to that of the US, emphasizing that such comparisons should be made on a case-by-case basis.
Amoako-Boadu, who is also a member of the Communication Team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), made these remarks during an appearance on TV3’s Key Points show. His comments were in response to claims by another legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, that the former CEO of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe, could serve her sentence in the US due to Ghana’s poor prison conditions.
Tamakloe was sentenced to 10 years in absentia for causing a financial loss of GHC90 million to the state. The former Operations Manager of MASLOC, Daniel Axim, was also handed a five-year jail term in connection with the case.
Deputy Attorney-General Alfred Tua-Yeboah confirmed that the state has initiated procedures to extradite Tamakloe back to Ghana to serve her sentence. However, Kpebu expressed concerns about Ghana’s prison conditions and the potential challenges in the extradition process.
Amoako-Boadu clarified that Tamakloe’s sentence would only begin upon her return to Ghana, emphasizing that she must be physically present in the country for the jail term to take effect. Overall, the debate underscores the complexities of extradition processes and the different standards of prison conditions between countries.
