Mahama will have China extradite Aisha Huang for prosecution – Ablakwa

The next government of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will cause the extradition of Aisha Huang back to Ghana from China for prosecution, North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has revealed.

"I am saying this with the backing of my flag bearer [Mr John Mahama] and my party that the NDC will trigger the extradition of Aisha Huang to face prosecution in a future NDC government", he told Samson Lardy Anyenini on Accra-based Joy FM’s news analysis programme Newsfile on Saturday, 27 April 2019.

The Chinese ‘galamsey queen’ was deported by Ghana to her native home after being arrested for illegal mining-related offences.

Ghana's Attorney General, however, filed a nolle prosequoi that discontinued her prosecution prior to her deportation.

A recent comment by Ghana’s Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo at a town hall meeting in the US to the effect that jailing Aisha Huang would not have ended Ghana’s problems, which he juxtaposed to a $2-billion bauxite-for-infrastructure deal between the government of Ghana and Chinese firm Sinohydro, got the opposition and civil society groups angry.

While the NDC insisted that Mr Osafo-Maafo merely spoke the mind of President Nana Akufo-Addo, civil society groups like OccupyGhana have demanded a retraction and apology from the former Finance Minister.

Also, the Media Coalition Against Small-Scale Mining has demanded explanations from the government about the deportation of Ms Huang.

However, speaking on Newsfile as well, the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako said any extradition move by a future NDC government will be an exercise in futility.

According to him, the NDC is merely making political capital out of the senior minister’s gaffe with the extradition promise.