Mahama Grants Amnesty to 87 Prisoners on Death Row, 911 Others
- President John Mahama has granted amnesty to 998 prisoners following recommendations by the Prisons Service Council
- The categories of convicts granted amnesty affected 787 first-time offenders and 87 people on death row
- A statement from the presidency indicated that the president initially received 1,014 recommendations for amnesty
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President John Mahama has granted amnesty to 998 prisoners in line with Article 72(1) of the Constitution
The amnesty follows recommendations by the Prisons Service Council and consultations with the Council of State.
Source: Getty Images
A statement from the government provided a breakdown of the categories of prisoners granted amnesty.
The categories of convicts affected 787 first-time offenders, 87 people on death row to be commuted to life imprisonment, 51 on life sentences to be commuted to 20 years in prison, 33 seriously ill persons freed, 36 persons over 70 years old freed, two nursing mothers freed, and two prisoners freed based on petitions.
The president initially received 1,014 recommendations for amnesty.
Has William Ato Essien been pardoned?
While no names of the pardoned persons have been released, there is speculation that former Capital Bank CEO, William Ato Essien, could be among the persons pardoned.
He has been the subject of pardon reports in the past. Essien is said to be ill in prison custody amid a 15-year sentence.
John Apea, the Head of Missions at the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and has been at the forefront of calls for Essien's release. The president was also petitioned on the matter.
About William Ato Essien's prison sentence
Essien pleaded guilty to misappropriating funds deposited at the bank by thousands of clients and to stealing, abetment to theft, conspiracy to steal, and money laundering, among other charges.
He was also found guilty of financial crimes relating to the mismanagement of funds, including the embezzlement of GH¢620 million.
During the case, Ato Essien had tried to challenge the revocation of Capital Bank's operating licence by the Bank of Ghana.
He was initially told he would have been able to walk free if he could settle his debt of GH¢53 million to the state.
Source: Facebook
Ghana's banking sector experienced a significant crisis between 2017 and 2019, leading to the collapse of several indigenous banks, including uniBank, UT Bank, Capital Bank, and others.
The Bank of Ghana embarked on a comprehensive clean-up and recapitalisation exercise, citing insolvency, weak corporate governance, related-party lending, and unsustainable business models as key reasons for the failures. This clean-up was said to have cost at least GH¢21 billion.
Godfred Dame joins calls for release of Ato Essien
YEN.com.gh reported that former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame added his voice to calls for the release of Essien as part of criticism of the current Attorney-General's office.
As part of criticisms of the halting of prosecutions in the uniBank case under the current Attorney General, Dominic Ayine, Dame stated that Essien's continued incarceration was unjust.
In a statement on Facebook, he said that stopping the prosecution of larger financial infractions than meant Essien's continued incarceration was unjustified.
Source: YEN.com.gh
