Leadership of the church with some members of the Women’s Ministry
The Women’s Ministry of the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA), Pokuase District, has supported 11 inmates who were convicted by the state for failing to pay their court fines to be freed from the Nsawam Medium Prisons.
The church paid an amount of GH¢40,000 as court fines for the male inmates who were serving various sentences, including assault and stealing.
The freed inmates, who are from Anloga in the Volta Region, Ada, Labadi and Teshie in the Greater Accra Region, were also provided with fares to enable them to travel back to their respective homes.
One of the inmates told journalists that he was convicted for stealing his auntie’s mobile phone, but vowed never to repeat that act given his experience at the prison.
He also thanked the church for the gesture, and appealed to individuals and other religious bodies to remember other inmates who are convicted for such petty crimes.
District Elder of the Pokuase Seventh Day Adventist Church, Daniel Asare, in an interview with the media said it was imperative for the church to respond to the plight of vulnerable people, especially prisoners, citing Psalm 73 verse 11 from the scriptures.
According to him, the SDA Church has over the years embarked on various charity initiatives, including support to the orphanages and some less privileged people in society, in line with its beliefs.
He said the gesture therefore forms part of its vision this year to support people in such situations, especially people who are serving sentences at various prisons for failing to pay their court fines.
Elder Asare, who bemoaned the state of the country’s prisons, also appealed to the government to review laws on custodial sentences given the prevailing conditions of people in prison.
“I think it’s not every offence that requires people to go to prison, especially when they have to be there for two years and more when that person could be given some form of work to do to pay such fines imposed on them.
“This will help reduce overcrowding, which all of us have over the years complained of, and yet the state continues to criminalise petty offences,” he stated.
Madam Charlotte Danquah, Women’s Ministry Leader of the SDA Church at Dunyo-Mayera, for her part advised young people to be obedient to the word of God which transforms lives, while appealing to Ghanaians to pray and support people in prison.
Pastor Desmond Owusu Ofori, Associate District Pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pokuase, also advised people, particularly the youth, to focus on their education, lead godly lives and refrain from engaging in acts that have the tendency to affect their lives.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah