President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has offered his unflinching support to the Attorney General in his quest to prosecute Chinese ‘galamsey’ queen Aisha Huang.
He said he is in full support of any prosecution of persons flouting the country’s mining laws.
Speaking at a conference of the Ghana Bar Association in Ho, as part of a two-day tour of the Volta region, President Akufo-Addo indicated his support for the prosecution of the suspect by the Attorney General.
“…to show you of my full support of the Attorney General in his determination to prosecute Aisha Huang and her collaborators who apparently insist on flouting our laws on galamsey and illegal mining.”
“I expect if they are found guilty, that the court will apply the full rigour of the new amended Act 995 which has increased substantially the punishment for breaches of the law,” President Akufo-Addo stressed.
Aisha Huang was first arrested in May 2017 and charged for undertaking illegal mining but was subsequently deported.
Aisha and her accomplices since their arrest have been flown to Accra and arraigned same day before an Accra Circuit Court.
She has been charged with two counts of engaging in the sale and purchases of minerals without valid licence contrary to section 99(1) of minerals and mining (amendment) act 2015(Act 900) and mining without licence contrary to section 99(3) of minerals and mining (amendment) Act 2015, Act 900 to which she and the other three accomplices pleaded not guilty.
They have since been remanded into police custody by the court and are expected to reappear in court on September 14, 2022.
According to the AG Department, Ms. Huang will stand for trial for her past and current crime for engaging in illegal mining.
In a post on social media, the Attorney General Department and the Ministry of Justice said he has called for the docket on Aisha Huang for prosecution.
“Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has called for the docket on En Huang, a.k.a. Aisha Huang, from the Police,” portions of the Ministry’s post on September 6 read.
“The Attorney General per his request, assures that he will initiate prosecution against Miss Huang, in respect of her current alleged offences as well as those of 2017 before her deportation from Ghana in 2018,” the Ministry added.
The popular galamsey businesswoman was a household name in Ghana five years ago but fled to her home country under bizarre circumstances.
