State Prosecutors handling the case involving Aisha Huang, who has become synanimous with galamsey in Ghana has told the circuit court trying her that she sneaked out of Ghana in 2018 to avert prosecution for the same offence.
This is the first official confirmation of the issues surrounding the disappearance of Aisha Huang in 2018.
Aisha was arrested in 2017 for engaging in galamsey and buying minerals without license. However she could not face trial. Subsequent reports suggested that she was instead deported, a decision justified by the then Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Mafo.
President Akufo-Addo however later in 2019 said it was a mistake deporting her.
Aisha however re-emerged in the country and was re-arrested with three other Chinese nationals engaging in illegal mining activities.
The ability of Aisha to re-enter Ghana without being noticed became a matter of public discussion.
Some security analysts believe Aisha might either be an agent of the Chinese government sent on a mission to destroy Ghana’s environment or she is working in carhoot with high powered Ghanaian government officials and other powerful personalities in the country.
The Attorney-General earlier this week announced his determination to see to a successful prosecution of Aisha for the current and previous offences. President Akufo-Addo at the same event pledged his full support for his Attorney General to prosecute Aisha.
The president just a day later stoke more controversy when he stated on a Ho based radio station that he was not sure if Aisha was deported in the first case or if she fled the country.
The statement got many Ghanaians wondering if the president was on top of issues in the country.
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who himself appeared taken aback by the president’s comment initially, later came to explain away the fears of the public.
According to him, the president was aware of the full circumstances surrounding the case, however the president was using “a figure of speech”.
Oppong Nkrumah further explained that what happened in the first instance was not a deportation but rather a repatriation.
However, even the case was called in court today, the facts presented by the state Prosecutors pointed out that Aisha Huang rather sneaked out of the country in 2018 to avoid prosecution.
According to the facts, Aisha managed to change details on her Chinese passport and sneaked into the country again.
Through intelligence, she and three others were arrested for engaging in illegal mining and buying of minerals without license. The other three accomplices are facing a further charge of selling mining equipment without license.
They have all pleaded not guilty and have been remanded in custody to reappear at a later date.
SOURCE theghanaianvoice
