Ex-convict �Gemann� Gives Back To Ghana Prisons Service

Ex-convict Nana Kwesi Agyeman, popularly known as �Gemann�, has donated assorted boxes of soap and sanitary pads worth GH�2,000 to the Nsawam Male and Female Prisons in the Eastern Region. The items were intended to help in the upkeep of the prison inmates, especially their personal hygiene, which is critical to their physical functioning. Condemned to prison custody for murder in January 1995 and later granted amnesty in January 2009, Mr Gemann received sound biblical training while serving his sentence at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, and has since bore fruits that continue to benefit the country and the world at large. While in prison, he contributed his musical skills towards the strengthening of the Music Unit set up for the training of inmates with musical talents. The Unit, which serves as a reformatory facility in the prison, continues to churn out trained choristers who are serving in various churches across the country. Gemann, who currently doubles as a minister of the gospel and philanthropist, did not only donate for the upkeep of the inmates, but also shared the good news with them. In a touching sermon titled �ONE DAY�, he reminded the inmates of the mercies of God, adding that God is an all-forgiving creator who is ever ready to pardon the repented, including prisoners. He therefore admonished inmates to dispel suicidal thoughts by drawing closer to God for peace and restoration. He also encouraged the inmates to develop individual visions that are human-centred while in prison. This, he said, will order their steps and accelerate their acceptance and social re-integration as they return to society. Contrary to the view held by some Ghanaian critics that prison inmates are worse off in the country�s prisons, the after-prison exploits of Gemann remain a mark of a truly reformed prisoner; thereby justifying the notion that given the needed support, the country�s prison system can churn out more of such reformed inmates into society. Receiving the items, Deputy Controller of Prisons (DCOP) in charge of Nsawam Medium Security Prison, Ackom Gyedu, was thankful to Gemann for the gesture and commended him for defying the odds by becoming a proud story of the reformatory efforts of the Ghana Prisons Service.