Former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Wontumi, has called for urgent reforms in Ghana’s prison system, including a dedicated prison hospital and provision for conjugal visits.
Wontumi, who has been in prison since July 20, 2026, made the appeal in reflections shared through his spokesperson, Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah.
According to the statement issued on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Wontumi said his incarceration has been a period of deep reflection, giving him first-hand interaction with prison officers, inmates and conditions under which the Ghana Prison Service operates.
The statement quoted him as saying the system has seen little structural improvement since 1962 and that correctional facilities must move from punishment to reform, welfare and productivity.
Wontumi called on government to review pay, accommodation and conditions of service for prison officers and to construct an ultra-modern prison hospital for all facilities.
He said many prisons have no dedicated hospital, ambulance or standby generator, leaving seriously sick inmates, including those with tuberculosis and other terminal illnesses, to be managed under difficult conditions. In the interim, he proposed an emergency linkage with the 37 Military Hospital and the Police Hospital.
He also raised concerns about classification of inmates, noting that minor offenders sleep with armed robbery convicts while persons standing trial for treason and terrorism are mixed with ordinary inmates, which he described as a security risk.
Wontumi further called for a dedicated private area for spouses and children to visit, arguing that regulated visitation will reduce tension, preserve marriages and aid reformation.
He also cited overcrowding, with inmates with tuberculosis sleeping with healthy inmates, and called for clear policy on LGBTQI+ classification.
On prison agriculture, he said the service has vast lands and skilled labour but only one tractor and appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support prison farms.
He made a special appeal to the Speaker of Parliament to lead conversation on prison reform and to the Majority and Minority caucuses to work together to pass a new Prison Reform Act and approve budgetary allocation for a hospital, ambulances, generators and agricultural equipment.
He urged the select committees on Defence and Interior, Health, and Food and Agriculture to visit prisons to see conditions firsthand.
“At this experience since July 20th till date, prison doesn’t reform as it should be. I pray that the entire Africa will learn from Ghana,” the statement quoted him as saying.
The statement added that Wontumi remains in high spirits.
