The government has stated its willingness and commitment to guarantee that all those involved in unlawful mining operations across the country are apprehended and prosecuted.
Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, said the government would battle galamsey on all fronts.
Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, speaking to Citi News after galamsey queen Aiyhsa Hang was sentenced to four years and six months in prison on Monday, December 4, said it is only a matter of time before all galamsey participants are caught and punished.
“We have been able to successfully prosecute her [Aiyhsa Hang], and she is going to spend four years and six months in custody. It should be a lesson to others that you may be engaging in illegal mining, but when the time comes, the law will deal with you in accordance with what you have done. It is a continuous fight.”
The court also imposed a GH48,000 punishment on Aiyhsa Hang.
Background
Aisha Huang was suspected of being involved in galamsey activities, particularly in the Ashanti Region. She was first detained and deported from the nation in 2018 after the A-G opted to drop her prosecution for operating in small-scale mining without a license.
She allegedly sneaked into the nation to participate in the same actions for which she was deported.
The A-G therefore decided to prosecute her for the alleged offenses committed before to her deportation as well as the new ones committed following her re-entry into the nation in October 2022.
According to the prosecution, Aisha ran a mining support services firm and held an unlawful mining concession at Bepotenten in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region.
She had pled not guilty to illegally conducting a mining activity without a license, supporting the involvement of those involved in a mining operation, illegally employing foreigners, and entering Ghana while barred from re-entry.
However, on May 3, this year, Aisha pled guilty to violating section 20(4) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573 by entering Ghana when forbidden from re-entry.
That was after she had entered into a plea bargaining arrangement with the State (Attorney General’s Office).
