NDC must tell us how to repatriate Gitmo 2 - Kyei Mensah-Bonsu

Majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu wants the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to come up with propositions as to how the two ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees their government facilitated in coming into the country could be repatriated.

The government indicated last week that it is exploring possible friendly countries to send the two whose two-year stay in Ghana ended on January 6, 2018 according to Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid.

Following the expiration of the diplomatic agreement, the US government has also stated categorically that it is no longer responsible for their upkeep especially when the two have been granted refugee status according to the US Ambassador, Robert Jackson who described it as surprising.

Ghana finds itself in a precarious situation since repatriation to a third country needs to be done with the consent of the two who are now married.

The minority in Parliament have argued that, there are still other avenues to be used to repatriate them to other countries if the government is determined to.

Responding to this, the legislator refused the claims by the minority saying if indeed there are avenues they should bring it on board adding that, Ghanaians must blame the NDC for lying about details of the agreement in the first place.

He also cautioned government to be extra vigilant on them looking at how they are still networked to each other from different countries in the world.

Commenting on whether the two possess Ghanaian passports, he described the claims that Mahmud Umar Muhammed Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammed Salih Al-Dhuby have been granted such privileges as untrue

“They are not holding Ghanaian passports, the former government granted them refugee status rather”. The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs told Kwame Tanko on Angel Fm.

He affirmed, however, that, the two were granted refugee status and not Ghanaian passports as reported by some media outlets explaining that it is acquired from the United Nations (UN) and not the country a refugee resides.

“We can’t send them back to their country Yemen because there is no peace there, Ghana can be charged should anything happen to them in their country”. Mr. Kyei Mensah stated.

The two Yeminis came to Ghana in January 2016 to stay for two years under a diplomatic agreement when the United State (US) government decided to close down its detention center, at Guantanamo Bay where the suspect lived for 14 years after their arrest.