Former Ashanti Region Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has appealed to the Speaker of Parliament to lead the national conversation on prison reform, describing it as a matter of human rights and national development.
The appeal is contained in a press statement dated October 27, 2026 and signed by his spokesperson, Dr. Palgrave Boakye-Danquah.
Dr. Boakye-Danquah says he has visited Chairman Wontumi consistently since his remand on July 20, 2026, and is sharing his reflections on the conditions in Ghana’s prisons.
According to the statement, Chairman Wontumi believes the needed legal and budgetary changes cannot happen without Parliament, with the Speaker and both the Majority and Minority caucuses working together.
He is calling on the Speaker, currently Alban Bagbin, to lead that effort.
He wants the Majority and Minority caucuses to cooperate in a bipartisan manner to pass a new Prison Reform Act.
He also wants them to approve funding for a dedicated prison hospital, an ambulance service, standby generators and agricultural equipment for prison farms.
The statement further asks the Parliamentary Select Committees on Defence and Interior, Health, and Food and Agriculture to make working visits to prisons across the country and see conditions first-hand.
Chairman Wontumi says his time in custody has been a period of deep reflection.
He says he has interacted directly with prison officers and inmates, and that the Ghana Prison Service has seen little structural improvement since 1962.
He insists that “Not all prisoners are prisoners” and that the correctional system must move from punishment to reform, welfare and productivity.Among the problems he highlights are the lack of a dedicated, well-equipped prison hospital, with no ambulance or standby generator in many prisons.
He says seriously sick inmates, including those with tuberculosis, are managed under difficult conditions, and that inmates with the disease sleep alongside healthy ones.
He also says minor offenders share cells with armed robbery convicts, and that persons on trial for treason and terrorism are mixed with ordinary inmates, which he describes as a security risk.
Chairman Wontumi also calls for an urgent review of pay, accommodation and conditions of service for prison officers.
He wants a private area where prisoners can receive spouses and children, arguing that “it is the prisoner who is in prison, not the children or spouse.”
He also pleads with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support prison farms, noting that the Service has vast lands and skilled labour but only one tractor.
Beyond Parliament, he appeals to the Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Attorney General, Chief Justice and the Government to prioritise prison welfare.
He also wants Regional Prison Commanders included in jury and justice deliberations, because “the real job begins after judgement.”
Chairman Wontumi says African prisons must change, even in name, and that Ghana can lead the continent.
“I pray that the entire Africa will learn from Ghana,” he says in the statement.
He remains in high spirits, according to his spokesperson.