No bail for Aisha Huang & Co

The popular Chinese lady on trial for illegal mining activities in Ghana, En Huang, alias Aisha Huang and her three other accomplices were denied bail when they appeared before the Circuit Court yesterday, Tuesday and are to remain in police custody for an additional two weeks until they re-appear in Court on October 12, 2022.

Lawyer for Aisha Huang, Captain Rtd. Nkrabea Effah Dartey was not happy and argued that denying bail to the accused foreigners could create an impression that foreign nationals would not find Justice before the Courts of Ghana.

Effah Dartey said the courts should ignore commentaries outside the court room. He prayed the Courts for bail and promised that if granted the full conditions would be met by his clients.

Prosecution argued that the suspects, particularly Aisha Huang is a flight risk therefore she and her accomplices should remain in custody for further investigations into the activities they are alleged to have committed.

Arguing further against the bail application, the prosecution said the: “fact is that these persons are charged, investigations show they entered this country illegally. That is enough to draw a conclusion that they have no fixed place of abode let alone gainfully employed”.

“We invite you to avert your mind to the fact that inasmuch as they deserve justice, the laws of the land, which have been desecrated also deserve justice. They are remanded as we continue with investigations”, the State prosecutors argued.

In his ruling on the bail application, the Circuit Court Judge, His Honour, Justice Samuel Bright Acquah, said the prevailing adverse consequences of illegal mining had had on Ghana and the continuous activities of the persons involved in the illicit act should be a wakeup call on the judiciary to handle such cases with all the requisite seriousness and firmness permitted by law.

The Judge referred to an official communication public from the Ghana Water Company Limited which warned that Ghana risks losing all its water bodies if the illegal mining menace is not stopped with a sense of urgency.

The water company, in that communication, had also warned about the ever increasing high cost of treating water which is becoming unbearable for the Company because of the activities of persons in illegal mining.

His Honour, Justice Acquah refused the bail application and remanded the accused persons over concerns about their availability to stand trial if granted bail.

He said “how the accused entered into this county, she cannot tell, what will happen if she does not appear to stand trial?… Motion for bail is denied and the accused is remanded for two weeks.”

Meanwhile, Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, on September 16, filed fresh charges against Aisha Huang at the Accra High Court.

Count One: Undertaking a mining operation without a licence contrary to section 99(2)(a) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, Act 703 as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act 2019, Act 995.

Count Two: Facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation contrary to section 99 (2)(a) & (3) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, Act 703 as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act 2019, Act 995.

Count Three: Illegal employment of foreign nationals contrary to section 24 of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).

Count Four: Entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry contrary to section 20(4) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573.