Veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr has recounted how a Palestinian businessman was allegedly kidnapped and tortured by Israeli intelligence operatives after arriving in Ghana in 2018.
Speaking on Pan African TV on September 10, 2026, Pratt identified the businessman as Mahran Baajour and claimed the operation was carried out without the knowledge of Ghana's security authorities under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to Pratt, the businessman had arrived at the then Kotoka International Airport to conduct business when Israeli intelligence operatives intercepted his vehicle before he could reach the airport junction.
He alleged that the operatives arrived in Ghana on two private jets without seeking permission from the country's security authorities.
“You see, a few years ago, there was a Palestinian businessman who was coming to Ghana to conduct business. He landed at the Kotoka International Airport and even before he could get to the airport junction, Israeli intelligence operatives stopped his car and kidnapped him.
“It turned out that these Israeli intelligence operatives landed two private jets at the Kotoka International Airport for this operation. They did not seek permission from national security.
“At the time, Mr Kan Dapaah was the Minister for National Security. He knew nothing about this Israeli intelligence operation. The president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, did not know anything about this intelligence operation,” he said.
Pratt further alleged that the businessman was taken to a location at Roman Ridge in Accra, where he was held and tortured for about 10 days.
He said he and others raised the alarm through the media after receiving information about the incident.
“They then took him to a place in Roman Ridge and tortured him for about ten days. He was under severe torture for about ten days and when we got this information, we raised the alarm through the media and so on,” he recounted.
Pratt claimed that the businessman was eventually flown out of Ghana and released in Lebanon after the situation became difficult for the alleged operatives.
“When things were getting out of hand, they flew this Palestinian out of Accra and finally released him in Lebanon. When he was released in Lebanon, he was bleeding profusely and had lost two-thirds of his weight from torture,” he recalled.
He described the alleged operation as an example of what he considers growing Israeli impunity in Ghana, questioning why the operatives were not held accountable.
“This is an Israeli operation in Ghana, which was carried out with impunity. Total impunity.
“They came and launched an unauthorized security operation here. They kidnapped him here, tortured somebody who was visiting Ghana and so on. Nothing happened. Why is it so?” he asked.
It will be recalled that the incident sparked major protests in Beirut, Lebanon, where petitions were presented to that nation’s President and the Speaker of their Parliament.
The Majority Caucus at the time, which was the NPP, however, denied the abduction and disappearance allegations, claiming that checks at the National Security and Ministry of Foreign Affairs “affirm beyond a doubt that no such person had arrived at the Kotoka International Airport.”
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