Lawyer reacts to reports that Kwaw Kese never served jail term.

sQuashie

April 27, 2015 5:04 PM

The prison service did not receive convicted Kwaw Kese and could not tell where he was sent to after his conviction”.

Kwaw Kese

Nana Kwesi Boateng, lawyer for rapper Kwaw Kese who was sentenced to a day imprisonment by a Kumasi Circuit Court and further ordered to pay a fine of 1200gh or in default serve a three-year sentence with hard labour has debunked assertions that his client never served the jail term.

According a publication by Daily Guide who spoke to the Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer of Ghana Prisons Service, ASP Richard Bukari, “Kwaw Kese was nowhere to be found in the Kumasi Central Prisons as he was said to have slept outside the facility. The prison service did not receive convicted Kwaw Kese and could not tell where he was sent to after his conviction”.

However, speaking to Andy Dosty on Hitz Fm, counsel for the Fante rapper said the report was based on speculations. He noted that the prisons was not the only authority mandated to oversee the sentence.

“When you are sentenced, you are not given the opportunity to decide when you want to serve the sentence. It takes effects immediately and until you finish, you won’t be allowed to go. People as powerful as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah served a jail term. We have efficient judicial system. I don’t think Kwaw Kese is more powerful than anybody”, he said.

Asked if Kwaw Kese was assigned to a specific prison, he answered that not all sentences come with serving in a prison facility. He blamed the assertions on lack of education and ignorance.

“People can make all speculations. A lot of it stems from ignorance in the system. When someone is sentenced to a term, it is to any specific prison and he may not go into a prison facility. I think that as a country, we need to move forward. Kwaw Kese was sentenced and he has served his jail term….make a search at the registry department to see if the sentence was served or not”, he stated.

Kwaw Kese was standing trial for allegedly smoking in public, a substance suspected to be indian hemp.

sQuashie