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President John Dramani Mahama has granted amnesty to 998 prisoners across the country’s correctional facilities, the presidency announced on Monday evening [August 18, 2025].
According to a statement signed by Presidential Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the amnesty covers a wide range of inmates, including:
- 33 seriously ill prisoners
- 36 inmates aged over 70 years
- 87 inmates on death row, whose sentences have been commuted to life imprisonment
- 51 prisoners serving life sentences, whose terms have been reduced to 20 years
- 787 first-time offenders, who will be released
- Two nursing mothers
- Two inmates who directly petitioned the presidency for amnesty
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The statement did not disclose the names of the beneficiaries.
Speculation had grown around former Capital Bank CEO William Ato Essien, who had petitioned the President for clemency after being jailed in 2023 for misapplying liquidity support from the Bank of Ghana. Essien, who is currently on medical bail pending an appeal, has received public sympathy after reports of his ill health.
However, sources confirmed to Puretvonline that Essien is not on the list of beneficiaries. Another high-profile inmate, Patricia Asiedu Asiamah, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, is also excluded, having served less than six months of her 15-year sentence.
The presidency explained that humanitarian considerations were central to the decision. Out of 1,014 inmates recommended by the Prisons Service Council, 998 were approved by the President.
The move is expected to ease congestion in Ghana’s prisons while offering relief to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the sick, and mothers with children.
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