Ken Spoke To The Wife Over The Weekend – Prisons Service

The Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) has sought to smother the controversy surrounding the whereabouts of the Managing Editor of the Daily Searchlight newspaper, Kenneth Agyei Kuranchie, saying the wife of the incarcerated journalist; Mrs. Lucy Kuranchie is privy to the location of the husband. Courage Atsem, Public Relations Director of the Service, claims Mrs Lucy Kuranchie even had the privilege of speaking to the husband over the weekend via phone. “When he (Ken Kuranchie) got to one of the prisons, (name withheld), the officer in charge asked him whether he would want to speak with anyone and he said yes he would want to speak with his wife. He gave his wife’s number; the wife’s phone was called but was out of courage area. “…He later gave a number to her friend, the officer called and they spoke on phone. He told the friend to tell the wife of his whereabouts. It is surprising the wife is claiming she doesn’t know where the husband is being held,” he said. Ken Kuranchie was sentenced to 10 days imprisonment for contempt of court. He was then first sent to Nsawam Medium Security Prison on Tuesday to serve his sentence but later transferred to the Ho Central Prison on Wednesday. There were also reports last Friday that he had been moved from the Ho prisons to another unknown location. But Courage Atsem, in an interview with Peacefm’s “Kokrokoo” Morning Show Host, Kwami Sefa Kayi, pointed out that the relocation of Ken Kuranchie is in accordance with the constitutional provisions outlining the role of the Prisons Service. He explained that the Service is mandated by law to transfer prisoners for their safety, for which Mr. Ken Kuranchie is no exception. It therefore does not behoove the Service to disclose the whereabouts of a prisoner, ASP Atsem added. Outlining the legal basis for the transfer of a prisoner from a particular prison to another, he said “Prisoners have the right to serve their sentences in peace without public announcements of wherever they are. What is important is that they are supposed to be in safe custody and we are enjoined to ensure this safe custody and their welfare, and that’s what we have been doing.” He added that “the fact is we (Prisons Service) cannot announce the whereabouts of Mr. Ken Kuranchie on radio, it will amount to infringing on his rights….I don’t think anybody knows the whereabouts of Atta Ayi (a notorious criminal).” He assured the family of the incarcerated journalist and the entire nation that “Mr. Ken Kuranchie is in safe custody…When he’s due for release, he will be released.”

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana