From darkness to freedom: Mr Jaba Donle, who spent 17 years in prison without trial after being declared mentally unfit, has been released and reunited with his family, thanks to the relentless efforts of Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP) Majid Alhassan and the leadership of the Wa Central Prisons.
Mr Donle, now 54, was arrested in 2007 for allegedly murdering his younger brother with a piece of wood during a period of mental instability and was placed under Presidential Pleasure (PP), a sentence where he was to remain in custody until deemed fit to stand trial.
He, however, remained in the Wa Central Prison long after regaining his mental stability, with no date of discharge or prospect of a trial, but his plight went unnoticed for years, leaving him to face what could have been a life of indefinite imprisonment.
As fate would have it, light sparkled at the tunnel when ASP Majid Alhassan, Chief Executive Officer of Hope Foundation Gh and Head of the Criminal Records Unit of the Wa Central Prisons, took up Mr. Donle's case after receiving the backing of the Upper West Regional Prisons Commander, ADP James B. Mwinyelle.
"Majid, do anything humanly possible to get this guy freed legally," Commander Mwinyelle told ASP Alhassan, who then embarked on a tireless mission to bring justice to Mr. Donle.
ASP Alhassan worked closely with legal professionals, including the Legal Aid Scheme, and advocated on Donle’s behalf and eventually, Lawyer Crispin Ziekah, the head of Legal Aid in the Upper West Region, took up the case, filing the necessary applications to get Mr. Donle's matter heard.
Firmly resolved to getting the matter resolved, ASP Alhassan also met with the Wa High Court Judge, His Lordship Justice Alhaji Yussif Asabey, to narrate Mr. Donle’s ordeal and His Lordship was shocked to learn that he (Mr. Donle) had been in prison for 17 years without trial.
Justice Yussif did not waste time but immediately called for further investigation into the case, prompting ASP Alhassan to track down Mr Donle’s family.
After days of searching, ASP Alhassan located Mr Donle’s village, Pouyaama-yiri, in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region.
Tragically, all of Mr. Donle’s close family members, including his two wives who had been tired of waiting and got remarried, had passed away during his time in custody and two of his five children had also died, leaving behind three surviving children, the eldest of whom was only five years old at the time of Mr. Donle’s arrest.
"When I informed his children that their father was still alive, they broke down in tears. They had been told he had died many years ago," ASP Alhassan recounted.
Despite the emotional toll, the family was able to speak with Mr Donle over the phone, marking the first time in 17 years that he had contact with them.
On October 17, 2024, the nearly two decades of incarceration, where Mr. Donle had been left without hope of ever returning home, was brought to an end when he was officially "acquitted and discharged" by the court.
While Mr Donle has regained his freedom, his journey is far from over as ASP Alhassan, who has spearheaded this entire effort, is already focused on the next challenge—helping Donle reintegrate into society.
During his time in prison, Donle learned the skill of weaving, but his deteriorating vision makes it difficult for him to continue this trade.
ASP Alhassan has proposed setting up a mini provision store for Mr Donle in his village, noting that it would provide him with a means to sustain himself while minimizing the emotional impact of what he has lost during his years in custody.
"He needs something to keep him busy so he doesn’t dwell on the years he spent in prison," said ASP Alhassan and proposed, "A provision store will give him some independence and allow him to take care of his basic needs."
"My dream is to see him being established in his community to enable him to cater for his livelihood without having to depend on someone," ASP Alhassan added.
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