Four illegal Chinese immigrants who are awaiting deportation after the outcome of a GHC16,000,000 civil suit against them before a Kumasi High Court are said to bear Ghana Identity cards.
The chief of Kwapia in the Adansi North District, Nana Gyamena Oyiakwan, has revealed at a press conference at Obuasi over the weekend that the Chinese nationals bear Ghanaian identity and are walking in freedom, instead of being in prison custody or with the Ghana Immigration Service following a court order.
The chief said though the said identity cards conspicuously indicate that the bearers are non-citizens, he believed they should not have been issued at all in the first place considering the status of the holders who have been identified as illegal immigrants by the law.
The Kwapiahene suspected that some Immigration officers are conniving with the illegal Immigrants and suggested that the Immigration officers who aid the illegal immigrants to enter the country must be sanctioned to ensure sanity in the system, as their actions contribute to the degradation of the environment and water bodies by the activities of the foreigners.
The chief suspected that in the case of the four illegal Chinese immigrants, some Immigration officers had granted them resident and work permit, even when it was evident before a court of law that they did not qualify under the Immigration Act, an indication that the discretion is being abused by government officials and collaborators, whose actions lead to the destruction of the environment.
The concerned chief said some Ghanaian collaborators are protecting the Chinese who are made to believe that officialdom can bend the rules to guarantee their stay in the country.
Nana Gyamena Oyiakwan referred to an instance where the said Ghanaian front men and collaborators frustrated and thwarted attempts by the Chinese Embassy in Ghana and the office of the Chief of Staff to handle the destruction of the 40-acre land, after they had been petitioned in June 2021 about the illegal activities of the immigrants.
Shi Li Wen, Huang Shen Jun, Li De Hao and Lan Haisong, the Chinese nationals, who had unlawfully entered Ghana and had undertaken illegal mining in a tract of land approved for educational purposes without the consent of the rightful owners, have also been cited for engaging in illegal mining activities.
They are said to have unconstitutionally, unlawfully and illegally entered and trespassed onto a parcel of the land and mined gold without the permission, mandate, authority and consent of lawful owners, whose lives are currently reportedly under threat.
Borometch Construction Company Limited, Seidu Fanzia School and Samuel Aboagye have sued the Chinese nationals for destroying a 40-acre land and thus rendering it unsuitable for the primary purpose underlying its acquisition.
Giving a background to the matter, Nana Gyamena Oyiakwan said the Court of Appeal, presided over by Mrs. Justice A. M. Domakyaareh, has ruled that the Chinese should be made to service their GHc16 million civil liability in court before they are deported for illegal mining.
The chief said on April 22, 2022 a Kumasi High court, presided over by His Lordship Mr. Justice E. Senyo Amedahe, granted an application for the arrest of the four Chinese illegal immigrants who were subsequently admitted to bail in the sum of GHC200,000 each with two sureties.
The court also asked the Chinese immigrants to deposit their passports and work permits at the registry of the court, which order has been defied.
According to the chief, a search conducted at the Registry of the High Court in Kumasi revealed that the Chinese nationals had not met the bail condition and yet, instead of being in prison custody or the Immigration Service they are walking in freedom with the alleged connivance of Ghanaian front men in officialdom.
Nana Gyamena Oyiakwan reiterated the concern of a High Court Judge over the situation where officials of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) issue work and resident permits to illegal immigrants.
He called on the government to prevail on officials of the Ghana Immigration Service to reconsider the use of the discretion of immigration officers in granting resident permits to foreigners who arrive in the country on 60 days B1 visas.
The chief also called on the Chinese Ambassador to safeguard further exploitation of the Chinese illegal immigrants in the instant case because their so-called collaborators are extorting huge monies which could have gone into servicing their civil liability before deportation.
He said because of their current status, the Chinese keep relocating under stressful conditions to avoid the long arms of the law hence the need for the Chinese Embassy to bail them out of their present predicament.
From Sebastian R. Freiku and Frederick Dando Abeam, Obuasi
