Michael Peprah retracts, begs over Aisha Huang allegations

Michael Kojo Peprah, president of the Small Scale Miners Association, has retracted comments he made that the arrested notorious Chinese lady, Huang En mostly known as Aisha Huang  and some Chinese residents in Ghana were under the protection of National Security to engage in illegal mining in Ghana.

Mr. Peprah said he was retracting the comments in its entirety and apologizing to the State security.  He added that he was also apologizing for and retracting another comment he had made to the effect that some of the Chinese residents in Ghana were driving around in vehicles that have ‘Pass Stickers’ from the Office of the President to facilitate the illegal mining activities they were engaged in.

Michael Kojo Peprah, speaking over the weekend to Asaase 98.5 FM in Kumasi noted:

“This time around we have observed the Government has come out and doing very well over the Aisha Huang case. We can see the Government has shown enough good will and we are encouraged by it. Before this, I had made a statement that there are some Chinese residents in Ghana who have used car stickers from the Office of the President in illegal mining activities. I retract that statement and I am apologizing to the State security. I have no evidence to back that statement I made .

“So far what we are telling all our members to be circumspect on how they comment on the Aisha Huang issue I myself I have retracted what I had earlier said about how the case was being handled and I have apologized for it”, Michael Kojo Peprah noted.

Though the Small Scale Miners Association’s president made the two allegations against National Security and the Presidency without adding any form of evidence or prove whatsoever, they were very widely published and used as political currency by spokespersons from political parties opposed to the Government of the day.

The same Michael Kojo Peprah who made the allegations has now made a turn-around to apologize for them and retract them in their entirety.

In his own words, he  has said he has no evidence or base to support his allegations.

It is not clear whether the persons who echoed his earlier allegations and relied on them as evidence to attack the reputation of National Security would also retract and apologize accordingly, or they would still stand by them although the person they had relied on has said he has zero evidence.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s current Attorney General, Godfred Dame is no-nonsense man and has said he is set to re-initiate prosecution of Aisha Huang.

“Nolle Prosequi was entered by the previous Attorney-General. I take the view that we should re-initiate the prosecution”, Mr. Dame told Citi News and said he has accordingly called for the docket of Aisha Huang from National Security.

Mr. Dame disclosed that his office would be prosecuting Aisha Huang in respect of her current alleged new offences as well as those for which she was on trial before her controversial deportation from Ghana in 2018.

Aisha Huang had been arraigned before court on May 9, 2017, for engaging in illegal small-scale mining at Bepotenten in the Amansie Central District in the Ashanti Region.

Aisha Huang was deported from Ghana to China in 2018 after she the state filed a Nolle Prosequi.

She was arrested recently after she was found to have sneaked into Ghana through an illegal entry point and was also found to have acquired for herself a Ghana Card although she has no official resident permit.