The Deputy Communications Director of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Ako Gunn says there is a hidden truth behind the ‘deportation’ or repatriation of Chinese national, Huang Ruixia alias Aisha Huang which President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has refused to say.
He was reacting to comments by the President that he is not sure whether the Galamsey Queen was deported or repatriated or fled.
President’s take
President Akufo-Addo, speaking at a Ho-based radio station, as part of his tour of the Volta Region, said he was unsure if Aisha Huang was initially deported or fled from the country.
According to him, her re-emergence raises concerns about whether she left Ghana in the first place.
However, he expressed reservation about the nefarious activities of Miss Huang and affirmed his support for her prosecution.
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Opposition’s reaction
Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Godwin Ako Gunn said Akufo Addo’s comment that he was unsure whether the Galamsey Queen was deported or fled was problematic, adding that there was a hidden truth the President was trying to cover.
He recalled that in 2018 when Aisha Huang’s issue came up, the Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo at the time told Ghanaians to stop talking about the arrest of one person, questioning if her arrest will bring them food.
Godwin Ako Gunn also said the Senior Minister put in a defense for Aisha Huang that Ghana needed some money from the Chinese Government and that if they arrest her, the money will not come.
“Since when did this bargain start? If the President says he is not sure if Aisha Huang was deported or repatriated or fled, we know him. It tells us that there is some truth the President cannot say. There is a truth the President is hiding from Ghanaians,” he said.
Background
Aisha Huang had been charged with three counts of undertaking small-scale mining operations, contrary to Section 99 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703); providing mining support services without valid registration with the Minerals Commission, and contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), and the illegal employment of foreign nationals, contrary to the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).
Following the filing of a nolle prosequi to discontinue the trial by state prosecutors, she was deported in December 2018.
But recently, she and three others were arrested and remanded for allegedly engaging in illegal mining in Ghana.
The accused persons were charged for engaging in sale and purchase of minerals without a license.
According to the prosecutor, she returned to her country [China] and changed her identity only to come back to Ghana to commit the same crime of which she escaped prosecution earlier.
According to the prosecution, the suspect applied for a Togo visa and went through the borders into Ghana and back to the galamsey business in a town in the Ashanti Region.
Meanwhile, Aisha Huang appeared in court today, Wednesday, September 14, 2022 for her trial over the cases she has been accused of.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
