Another prison inmate has implicated prison officers in aiding convicts grow from bad to worst.
Agya Kumi [pseudo name], who was on remand at the Ho Central Prison, said in a media interview that the officers facilitate the illegal trade of the inmates.
Smuggling
“The prison officers serve as middlemen and smuggle in mobile phones, marijuana (wee) and other illegal drugs in the cells,” he added.
What he thought were just stories, he said, were happening live while incarcerated for owing his business partners.
“I saw prison officers trading with inmates and I was shocked. They sell drugs to the inmates to make money,” he added.
The convict is convinced Ghana’s prisons, which are to serve as correctional and rehabilitation centres, rather make the inmates hardcore criminals.
He cited how an inmate convinced him to go into fake currency production business should he gain his freedom to buttress his point.
Homosexuality
Agya Kumi said homosexuality among the inmates is real. Though they try their best to shroud their acts in secrecy, they are mostly caught.
He said other young inmate’s relatively new in the yard are cajoled into the act as a form of security.
“Such young inmates enjoy the full benefits and protection from their partners.
“But if caught in the gay act he said the culprits are beaten to pulp until they are rescued by the prison officers. I witnessed this countless times,” he added.
Healthcare
He said inmates are fortunate to be given healthcare only when their situation is critical. A headache or common cold is given no attention.
“I saw inmates collapsing because the officers failed to take them to the hospital for medical attention,” he stressed.
Some of the inmates, who manage to smuggle drugs to the cell, help others who are in need to avert any death.
With just 21 days in the Ho Central Prison, the ex-convict said he would not have survived if he was jailed.
“The judge was compassionate and released me after the police failed to provide evidence against me, I don’t think I could have survived,” he said.
