Appeal court judge urges lawyers to offer more ‘pro-bono’ services   

Justice Angelina Mensah-Homiah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, has urged legal practitioners to offer more ‘pro-bono’ (professional services provided voluntarily and without charge) services to the public. 
 
She said the implementation of the Justice for All (JFAP) Programme had helped reduce cases of prolonged detentions without trial in the nation’s criminal justice system, calling on stakeholder support to address persistent challenges in the system. 
 
The JFAP helps alleviate prison overcrowding by setting up mobile in-prison special courts to adjudicate remand/pre-trial prisoner cases nationwide. 
 
It is a unique partnership between the state (criminal justice institutions led by the judicial service) and civil society organisations in the country. 
 
Justice Mensah-Homiah gave the advice on the sidelines of an in-prison JFAP court session, held at the premises of the Sunyani Central Prisons. 
 
It was jointly organised by the Judicial Service, the Office of the Attorney-General, and the Public Defenders Division of the Legal Aid Commission. 
 
In all, 19 cases were heard with the conviction of four inmates, eight court bails, as well as the striking out of four cases. 
 
Additionally, two inmates were referred for psychiatric treatment while a bail application was refused; warrants for 31 inmates were also renewed for two weeks to enable them to reappear in court. 
 
Justice Mensah-Homiah said the JFAP was progressing steadily, saying that since its inception in 2007, the nation’s prison population was around 13,800, including 4,218 remand prisoners. 
 
She said data from the Ghana Prisons Service showed that the present inmate population in the country stood at 13,432, comprising 1,789 convicts, representing 87.77 per cent, and 1,643 remand inmates, a representation of 12.23 per cent. 
 
Justice Mensah-Homiah said the JFAP had reduced the remand prison population from 30.57 per cent in 2007 to 12.23 in 2026. 
 
Superintendent Dennis Peasah, the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service, said the JFAP remained impactful, helping to address delays in trials. 
 
He cited that some remand prisoners had spent years in custody, saying that the JFAP was helping to ease pressure on the justice delivery system. 
 
Supt Peasah expressed concern about present congestion at the Sunyani Central Prisons, saying that the facility was built in the early 1960’s to accommodate only 400 inmates, but now had over 600 inmates. 
 
He suggested the need for more sittings to be held under the JFAP for more cases to be reviewed and settled accordingly.