Galamsey Queen Interpreter Missing - Trial Adjourned

The absence of a Chinese interpreter yesterday caused an Accra High Court to adjourn the trial of En Huang, aka Aisha Huang, a Chinese national arraigned for illegal mining, illegal re-entry into Ghana and other offences. Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, the presiding judge, yesterday indicated that she had been informed that the interpreter

had travelled and an arrangement was made for another one to be provided but unfortunately, the said replacement was absent when the case was called. She, therefore, ordered the registrar of the court to ensure that a Chinese Interpreter is provided to the court at the next sitting and subsequent ones before the case is

called. The court also ordered the Office of the Attorney General to ensure that the second batch of witness statements and their accompanying documents are filed before the next sitting. This was after Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, told the court that they were unable to file them in time but there was someone

at the court’s registry as at the time the court was sitting to file the remaining documents. He, therefore, prayed the court for a short adjournment to enable them file the remaining documents and serve same on the accused person and his lawyer. Justice Osei Marfo subsequently ordered the prosecution to file the remaining documents

and ensure that they are served on the defence team four clear days before the next day. Meanwhile, the court has maintained its stands on keeping Aisha Huang in custody until the final determination of the case. This was after she turned down another attempt by Nkrabea Effah Dartey, counsel for the accused, urging the court to

grant her bail. Justice Marfo said she will only change her mind if there is an unreasonable delay in the trial. The case was adjourned to the November 2, 2022, for case management and pretrial conference. Aisha Huang was deported in December 2018 after the then Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, entered nolle prosequi to also

discontinue her trial which was ongoing before an Accra High Court. She, however, managed to re-enter Ghana this year and was able to obtain the Non-Citizen Ghana Card in February, a situation which had many Ghanaians questioning Ghana’s Immigration policies and whether she was indeed deported in 2018. She was rearrested in the September 2022 and charged for illegally re-entering

Ghana following her repatriation in 2018 when she was arrested in May 2017, and put on trial for a similar offence of illegal mining. Among the four charges is the restoration of the charge of illegal employment of foreign nationals contrary to section 24 of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573), which was one of the charges she was facing during her first trial.