Court to Rule On Immigration Service Case Soon

An Accra High Court will soon give its ruling in a case in which two alleged nationals of Democratic Republic of Congo and Guadeloupe have sued the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) for unlawful detention and abuse of their rights.

The two - Jojoh Francois and Lima Moubouh - were both deported from Germany and Holland respectively in 1995 on Ghanaian emergency travel certificates obtained from the Ghana Embassies in Germany and Holland but have since their arrival in the country denounced any ties with Ghana.

On March 30, 1995, Jojoh Francois was deported to Ghana from Germany on a Ghanaian travel certificate under the name of Richard Forson. He was under the escort of four German policemen. He was deported as a Ghanaian on the allegation that the disembarkation form he filled on his arrival in Germany bore particulars indicating his Ghanaian nationality and this was further confirmed by the Ghana Ambassador that a Ghanaian passport was found in his possession.

In his statement to GIS officers at the Kotoka Airport, Jojoh who spoke very fluent 'street' French claimed to have originated from Guadeloupe, a former French colony in Latin America, and that he had travelled to Germany in 1992 on his Guadeloupe passport but was arrested and detained for 16 months when he attempted to renew his 3-month visa.

According to GIS the deportee claimed that all documents supporting his alleged Ghanaian nationality were forged and forced on him. In view of this, GIS detained two of the German escorts and allowed the other two to go insisting that the deportee be taken back to Germany as he had persistently denied any Ghanaian citizenship but based on the series of petitions from the German Ambassador to the then Foreign Affairs Minister and the Castle and the subsequent promise by the German government to facilitate the deportee's return to either Germany or his country of origin on condition that it was established beyond reasonable doubt that he was not a Ghanaian.

But according to the GIS, further interrogation of Jojoh Francois on April 10, 1995 heightened his doubtful Guadeloupe nationality as he did not know anything about the geographical and other basic facts on his claimed country of origin. He was also taken to the French Embassy for the confirmation of his alleged Guadeloupe nationality as they had the right to French citizenship but the interview failed to give credence to his alleged nationality as questions pertaining to his alleged Guadeloupe passport on which he travelled to Germany and other basic questions were not satisfactorily answered.

Consequently, he was kept at KIA until he assaulted a female Immigration officer which prompted his transfer to the Osu Police Station after he had been arraigned before court where he was cautioned and discharged. Upon his release, he found his way to the headquarters of the GIS where he lives up to now.

In the case of Lima Moubouh, GIS told the Chronicle that he was deported to Ghana when he was arrested in Holland possessing a fraudulent Ghanaian passport bearing the name, Samuel Osei. On his arrival at KIA, he claimed Zairean nationality. He was consequently detained at the Osu Police Station to enable further investigations into the case. Lima was moved from one Police custody to another for misconduct and threats till he finally settled at the Headquarters of the GIS when police were not ready any longer to keep him in custody according to the GIS.

He was taken to the DR Congo Embassy in Togo to confirm his nationality where he was confirmed as a citizen of DR Congo. Preparations were put in place to ensure his repatriation but was stalled midway when the GIS received a letter from the Charge d'Affaires of the DR Congo Embassy in Togo saying that the Embassy was conducting further investigations into the alleged Zairean nationality of Lima as the Mission noticed certain inconsistencies in the facts presented by the subject.

The Charge d'Affaires later came to the Immigration headquarters to inform the service that there was exclusive evidence that Lima Moubouh was not a Zairean and as a result, could not carry out the exercise any longer. Interestingly, the money that was given to the Charge d'Affaires of the DR Congo Embassy in Togo to purchase the plane ticket for Lima's trip to his alleged country was squandered explaining that the Embassy was in financial difficulties and pleaded with the service to give him time to enable him refund the money.

The deportees filed a suit against the GIS and on July 24, 1998 His Lordship Nana Gyamera-Tawiah gave an order, requesting the GIS to seek the assistance of the Ministry of foreign Affairs to repatriate the applicants to their respective countries but the issue still remains as to what the true countries of the deportees are.

The case is still pending at the High Court.