A former Ambassador to China, Horace Nii Ayi Ankrah, has called for the arrest and prosecution of persons who assisted ‘galamsey queen’ Aisha Huang in her dealings.
The ambassador, who suspects that the Chinese national had help suggested that her accomplices be smoked out and punished in accordance with the law.
“Let’s find who actually brought the lady, let’s find who actually got her the [Ghana] card…arrest them or punish them. Let them face the law”, Mr. Horace Nii Ayi Ankrah declared in an interview on JoyNews.
He also called on Ghanaians to stop pointing accusing fingers at people occupying high positions when “just somebody around the corner [is the one] who is enabling these people in the galamsey activities.”
The former ambassador to China further dispelled fears that Aisha Huang’s arrest and possible prosecution would lead to a diplomatic row between Ghana and China.
He believes that no single individual should be able to cause a stir between two sovereign nations who are mutually beneficial to each other in their bilateral relationship.
When asked if the Chinese government would allow Ghana prosecute Aisha Huang, Mr. Nii Ayi Ankrah said “whether they allow us or not, once a sovereign state like Ghana has gotten this person who has done something bad in your country, arrest the person let the person face the law. If the person is supposed to be jailed, jail the person…and that’s how the Chinese operate.”
He disclosed that a lot of the Chinese who come into Ghana to engage in illegal mining are coming from a particular province and therefore they can be easily blacklisted.
While calling for stronger institutions to deal with national issues such as Aisha Huang’s case, he advised the nation to consider a possible ban of visas on arrival for Chinese citizens to check galamsey activities.
