The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Court has convicted eight individuals for open defecation in parts of Accra, remanding seven of them into prison custody after they failed to pay court-imposed fines.

Each offender was fined 50 penalty units, equivalent to ¢600.

However, seven of the convicts were unable to pay and were subsequently remanded. They are: Samuel Aryeequaye, Evans Derry, Kwesi Milla, Richard Quintin Coffie, Seidu Aminu, Awuaaba Michael, and Quarcoo Ernest.

An eighth offender, Raphael Adjetey, who was also convicted for the same offence, paid the fine and avoided custody.

Speaking after proceedings, the AMA’s Head of Public Affairs, Gilbert Nii Ankrah, said the arrests were carried out by Environmental Health Officers during a night-time enforcement exercise led by the Head of the Environmental Health Department, Florence Kuukyi.

He explained that the operation targeted sanitation hotspots including Bubuashie, Jamestown and Chorkor, as the assembly steps up action against unsanitary practices across the metropolis.

According to Mr Ankrah, the AMA Environmental Health Department has begun round-the-clock operations to ensure strict compliance with sanitation by-laws.

He noted that officers are maintaining day-and-night monitoring to reduce public nuisance and safeguard public health.

The assembly says the intensified enforcement forms part of broader efforts to promote cleanliness and improve environmental sanitation in the capital.