Coronavirus: Punishment for Persons who Breach Face Mask protocols too harsh – Ghana Bar Association
Jonas Danquah 
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has called for the amendment of penalties of the Imposition of Restriction Act 2020 (Act 1012).
The GBA described the punishment as too harsh, particularly for individuals apprehended for not wearing face masks.
In a statement jointly signed by the Association’s President, Anthony Forson and the Secretary, Yaw Acheampong Boafo, they argued that current punishment will rather increase the number of convicts in the country’s prisons since a lot of people cannot afford to pay fines
“The GBA is apprehensive that the prisons which are presently congested, may shortly be teeming with convicts who are unable to pay fines imposed by Courts under Section 6 and paragraph 4(2).”
Under the Executive Instrument (E.I 164), persons who fail to wear a face mask in public, risk spending four to 10 years in prison or a fine between GH¢12,000 to GH¢60,000 or both.
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The GBA, rather, recommended that “a fine of not less than 10 penalty units and not more than 150 penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not less than one month and not more than two years.”
Read full statement Below
