Supreme Court Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Agyei has expressed his excitement following Parliament’s passage of the Community Service Bill.
According to Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Agyei, no one should be imprisoned for stealing plantain or 100gh.
The Supreme Court Justice is quoted by GHOne TV news card to have said, “No one should be imprisoned for stealing plantain or 100gh if they did it out of hunger and no one was hurt in the process.
I’m very happy for the Community Service Bill”.
Some netizens reacting to his comments stated, “Supreme Court Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Agyei is the wisest judge in Ghana. Ghana will work again with such serious minds at the helm of affairs. I am really looking forward to this Community Service Bill”.
A netizen added, “It’s good that they are taking this action. This should have been instituted in our justice system a long time ago. What will they do to those who are in prison now serving jail sentences for these petty crimes?
All of them should be released on time already served”.
One last netizen added, “This’s Akan law! When U fetch ONLY enough food to eat from any farm—NOT A CRIME. It’s only when you fetch large amounts to sell that it becomes an ‘mfomsoɔ’ requiring a court hearing at the LOCAL king’s court…HOW THIS DIDN’T FIND ITS WAY INTO THE EURO-SYSTEM IN 🇬🇭 TILL NOW IS STRANGE”.
His comments follow Parliament’s passage of the Community Service Bill, 2026, introducing community service as an alternative to imprisonment for persons convicted of specified categories of offences.
The new legislation establishes a National Community Service Secretariat and provides a legal framework for non-custodial sentencing to reduce overcrowding in Ghana’s prisons and promote offender rehabilitation.
Under the law, courts will have broader discretion to impose community service instead of custodial sentences in eligible cases.
On March 4, 2026, the Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, presented the bill before Parliament in accordance with Article 106(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
The bill was then referred to the Committee on Defence and Interior for consideration and a report.
The committee’s report disclosed that Ghana’s criminal justice system has traditionally relied heavily on custodial sentences as the primary form of punishment for convicted persons, a practice that has contributed to persistent overcrowding in prisons.
The report said the situation has placed considerable strain on the Ghana Prisons Service and increased government expenditure on inmate maintenance, healthcare, feeding and prison infrastructure.
The committee disclosed that efforts to develop a structured non-custodial sentencing regime began in 2014 when the Interior Ministry, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), initiated the preparation of a non-custodial sentencing policy.
The Community Service Bill gives effect to non-custodial sentencing provisions under the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30), and the Interpretation Act, 2009 (Act 792).
See the post below:
No one should be imprisoned for stealing plantain or 100gh. I'm very happy for the Community Service Bill… – Supreme Court Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Agyei#GHOneNews #EIBNetwork#GHOneTV #NewsAlert pic.twitter.com/l7q4X51mBL
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) July 12, 2026
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