Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak
The government has taken the first formal step toward introducing non-custodial sentencing in the country’s criminal justice system following the laying of the Community Service Bill, 2026 before Parliament.
The bill, which seeks to establish a National Community Service Secretariat and provide community service as an alternative to custodial sentences for persons convicted of specified categories of offences, was read for the first time during proceedings yesterday presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor.
Referring the bill for further consideration, the Deputy Speaker directed that it be committed to the Committee on Defence and Interior, with the leadership of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee joining in its review and reporting back to the plenary.
“Honourable Members, the Community Service Bill, 2026 is duly read for the first time and referred to the Committee for Defence and Interior with the leadership of the Constitutional and Legal joining them to consider and report to the House,” he ruled.
Shortly after the referral, First Deputy Minority Whip, Habib Iddrisu, rose under Order 163(3) to request a brief explanation from the Minister for the Interior on the objectives of the proposed legislation.
Responding to the request, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, explained that the bill is primarily intended to help decongest the country’s prisons and promote rehabilitation for minor offenders.
He noted that many individuals convicted of petty offences are currently given custodial sentences, further straining correctional facilities and increasing the state’s burden of feeding and maintaining inmates.
“One of the reasons for this bill is to help us decongest our prisons and to ensure that people with minor offences are rather given non-custodial sentencing instead of just keeping them and not having the ability to feed and maintain them,” the minister stated.
According to him, the proposed framework would allow courts to assign community service for minor infractions rather than imposing prison terms.
He cited examples of petty theft, arguing that incarceration for such offences often does little to reform offenders and instead contributes to overcrowding.
“We do not just sentence people for stealing bananas and plantain, but rather get them to do community service that will enhance community unity and prevent repetition of minor offences,” he added.
If passed, the bill will create the legal and administrative structures necessary to supervise and enforce community service orders nationwide.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House