Aisha storms court today …Akufo-Addo not sure if she was deported or she fled Ghana

She could pass for the most popular Chinese national in Ghana and she is scheduled to appear before an Accra Circuit court this morning where she is being tried on charges of engaging in mining without a licence and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without a licence.

She has multiple names including Huang Ruixia,   Huang En  and Aisha Huang alias ‘Galamsey Queen’ and was reported to have been either deported or repatriated from Ghana in 2018 after the State decided to discontinue criminal trial against her in a case where she was being facing court for engaging in illegal mining.

Of course she has multiple ages as well.

Aisha Huang’s deportation or repatriation in 2018 sparked a major uproar against the Government. An even louder and fiercer uproar erupted when news broke that  she had sneaked back into the country and had been arrested again in September 2022 over the same illegal mining activities she was engaged in 2018.

After the 2022 arrest, Aisha Huang was arraigned  for court on September 2, 2022 but her plea to the charges were not taken by the court presided over by Bright Acquah since the court had no Chinese interpreter at the time.

Aisha and three other Chinese nationals she was arrested with, Jong Li Hua; Huang Jei and Huiad Hiahu are expected to re-appear before the court today September 14,2022.

Akufo-Addo Not Sure

The return of Aisha and the reasons for her re-arrest has become a topical subject matter  and President Nana AKufo-Addo, during a radio interview with Stone City in the Volta Region, just this Monday said  he was still not certain in his mind whether indeed the Chinese lady was actually deported from Ghana in 2018 as reported or she fled the country.

The President however insisted that his Government has not relented in the fight against illegal mining and that there is evidence to prove his stance.

“There may be sensational cases and that matter is not over. The Aisha Huang for instance has become a short  form for everything to do with the involvement of foreigners, especially the Chinese in this illicit and dangerous act in our country.  But I am persuaded that much of the work that is being done is yielding results

“A lot of the work is being done without too much publicity and they are gradually yielding results. When you  have a situation like this woman who I am not still sure whether she was in fact deported or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back or whatever. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it but whichever  way it is,  she has become the sort of nickname for all that the galamsey represents and, unfortunately, also for the involvement of Chinese national  in Ghana in this particular illicit trade”, Nana Akufo-Addo noted.

He continued: “We have constantly to work at it to get the co-operation of the courts. Until recently when I came, the punishment for people caught was relatively light like a fine and even if you were to go on a custodial sentence,  it was relatively minimum.

“We have changed the law to stiffen the punishment for the people caught. For foreigners, I think it is now 15 to 25  years depending on the severity of what it is. So we are also now going to test our judicial  system to what extent it is going  to be responsive especially when someone like her goes to trial.

“But  I am persuaded that the fight is in the right place. It is not an easy fight. You  can see that in the last election, the concerted effort that the galamsey community made to try and turn us out of office because of our fight.”

Security Apparatus Strong

President Akufo-Addo disagreed with a suggestion that the fact that the deported Aisha Huang was able to reenter the country undetected is evidence of a weak security apparatus.

He blamed the challenge on the porous nature of most land boarders across West Africa and added that the Security system deserves some commendation for being able to smoke Aisha out although she had changed her name and appearance:

“It does not necessarily indicate that our security is weak but it is a fact that our borders are relatively porous and there is no point in anybody saying to the contrary, it is the simple truth. And with porous borders of course, you have  the possibility  of criminal elements being able to infiltrate and come into the country  without much  difficulty.

”But you have a situation where the spread of the law enforcement agencies was able to trap this woman. She did not turn up at the police station to say ‘I am Aisha Huang’, she was apprehended. So that  in itself is also telling you that people are not sleeping.

“Yes, someone can find a way to come back into the country through unofficial means and change their identity. Obviously she did not try plastic surgery, she changed her appearance but she even came under a different name.  But at the end of the day, the security and law enforcement agencies have been able to apprehend her. We need to encourage them to do more such work and to cooperate.  My understanding is that it was a tip off from some of the people in her vicinity who indicated to some of the security agencies that  she was operating in that  area…” Nana Addo added and called for an enhanced cooperation between citizens and the security agencies.