Legal practitioner and NPP member Ishaq Ibrahim has urged a shift in Ghana’s criminal justice system toward rehabilitation, emphasizing that prisons should aim to reform offenders rather than harden them.
Speaking on GHToday with Joshua Kodjo Mensah on Thursday, March 5, 2026, Ibrahim highlighted the need for reforms in line with the proposed community sentencing bill and broader systemic challenges in the country’s prisons.
“If a citizen goes astray and is sent to prison, the person should come out as a better citizen and not a bitter citizen who would want to fight the entire system,” he said, advocating for programs that prepare inmates for reintegration into society.
Ibrahim pointed to models in countries such as Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, where structured rehabilitation programs are central to reducing recidivism.
He noted that while community sentencing could alleviate overcrowding, Ghana currently lacks the technological and monitoring infrastructure, such as electronic tagging, needed for effective implementation.
He also raised concerns about proportionality in sentencing. “If someone steals a goat or chicken because they are struggling to feed themselves and is sentenced to three or four years in prison, we must question the proportionality of that punishment,” Ibrahim said, contrasting it with leniency often granted to white-collar offenders.
Ibrahim criticized poor prison conditions, including overcrowding and inadequate feeding allowances, recently increased from two to three cedis per day.
He praised initiatives like the University of Cape Coast’s collaboration with the Ghana Prisons Service, which enables inmates to pursue higher education and acquire vocational skills while serving sentences.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Abigail praise Pabai
