Beyond the Walls: Struggles, injustices of prisoners and ex-convicts
OVER the weekend, the National Theatre in Accra hosted Beyond the Walls, a play which laid bare the struggles of prisoners, ex-convicts and some flaws in Ghana’s justice system.
The emotional performance left many in the audience in tears as it shed light on issues of injustice, reintegration struggles and bias in the amnesty process.
Set within the walls of a prison, the play tells the heartbreaking stories of inmates with different but equally tragic backgrounds. While some are wrongfully convicted, others commit crimes out of sheer desperation. Each character represents the harsh realities faced by those behind bars.
In the play, Lady Jay, a devoted Catholic who converts to another faith in search of a deeper spiritual connection. In her zeal, she steals money from her new church, leading to her imprisonment.
Another inmate, serving time for a minor offense, faces additional discrimination due to her HIV-positive status. In a surprising twist, her fellow inmates become her support system, offering her the education and care she has never received outside prison.
And for Amina, her story highlights the painful struggle of reintegration. After serving eight years, she is released only to be rejected by her own family. With no support, she finds herself back in prison, a fate that is all too common for ex-convicts shunned by society.
Similarly, Frema, who stole to feed her starving siblings, reflects the desperation that often fuels crime, an aspect often ignored by a legal system that rarely considers the socioeconomic realities of offenders.
Despite the suffering, the play also stresses on the aspirations of some inmates. Within the prison walls were inmates who foresee themselves to be future news anchors, lawyers, dancers and fashion designer despite their circumstances.
One of the central themes of the play was about the unfairness of Ghana’s amnesty process. It portrays how those with political connections often receive clemency, while more deserving inmates remain behind bars.
Recognising the urgency of change, director of Beyond the Walls, Naa Ashorkor who took the stage after the curtains were drawn called for immediate action to address the discrimination faced by ex-convicts.
She revealed that proceeds from the play’s ticket sales would go toward organising a mental health conference for inmates.
According to her, this initiative aims at bringing together families, stakeholders and authorities to discuss the importance of rehabilitation and reintegration.
"We will have a mental health conference to sit down with families of exconvicts, the exvonvicts themselves and all parties involved to provide some sort of education and support system on reintegrating them back into society and how best they can be accepted," she said.
Beyond the Walls is a collaboration between Image Bureau and April Communications with support from Joy FM, United Nations Family in Ghana and Stanbic Bank.
