After spending 41 years behind the towering walls of Ankaful Maximum Security Prison, 71-year-old Francis Eshun finally walked into freedom on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, a free man once again, thanks to a presidential amnesty that has granted liberty to 998 inmates across the country.
The decision, signed and approved by President John Dramani Mahama, forms part of a nationwide effort to decongest Ghana’s overcrowded prisons and marks one of the largest acts of clemency in recent history. Among those freed was Mr. Eshun, who had served the majority of his adult life behind bars following his conviction in 1984.
“I never thought I would see the outside world again,” Mr. Eshun told The Coastal TV in an emotional interview just moments after stepping out of Ankaful’s main gate. “I’ve missed everything — my family, my freedom, the sound of the sea, and even the sunrise.”
Jailed at the age of 30, Mr. Eshun now faces a Ghana that has changed dramatically in his absence. “When I came here, we had no mobile phones,” he said quietly. “Now I hear people talk to machines and see faces on screens. It’s overwhelming.”
Officials at Ankaful described Mr. Eshun as one of the prison’s most disciplined and respected inmates. Superintendent Rockson Mintah said Eshun had become a father figure to younger prisoners and was often called upon to mediate conflicts within the facility.
“He was more than just an inmate — he was a mentor,” Superintendent Mintah said. “He used his time here to reflect, reform, and rebuild his character. His release is a testimony to what true rehabilitation can look like.”
The president’s amnesty focused on inmates who had shown good conduct, completed most of their sentences, or were elderly and no longer deemed a threat to society. According to the Ghana Prisons Service, the initiative also aims to ease the chronic overcrowding in correctional facilities, many of which operate well beyond capacity.
Upon his release, Mr. Eshun was embraced by his family members, who had waited outside the prison gates to welcome him back home. With tears in his eyes, he simply said: “I want to spend the rest of my life in peace with my loved ones.”
