The system is not being fair to “innocent” Aisha Huang – Effah Dartey

Although there seems to be a public outcry for the prosecution of Chinese Galamsey Queen Aisha Huang, her lawyer insists the system is unfair to her.

Nkrabeah Effah Dartey, counsel for the accused person, is convinced the media publicity has painted a gloomy picture of an otherwise “innocent young lady”.

The 47-year-old Aisha Huang, who became popular after her arrest in May 2017 and was tagged as Galamsey Queen, has pleaded not guilty to two charges.

She was charged with three others — Jong Li Hua, Huang Jei and Huiad Hiahu — for selling and purchasing minerals without a licence and mining without a licence.

Mr Dartey expressed his disappointment after the Accra Circuit Court turned down his request for bail for the accused persons.

“I feel the police do not have enough evidence to follow through with this case. She was not arrested with any exhibit of mining materials. She was not arrested at the site of the said illegal mining activity.

“So, what is the problem? Is it now that the police or the government is going to fish for information, or they are going to ransack personal items and ask questions and look for witnesses to build up a case against her which will be most unfair because that is contrary to our constitution.

“If you don’t have a dossier on the suspect, you should not arrest her. What evidence is there to show that Aisha is a Galamsey Kingpin, a persistent criminal or a notorious galamseyer?” he quizzed.

According to him, the charges in court should have been bailable, but his client has been condemned to another two weeks in custody because of the negative reportage and tags.

“My worry is that the media has overhyped this small matter of mining without a license and doing mineral sales without a license. It’s a small matter, and it happens every day in Ghana. So, I don’t see why the media should even write an editorial on this matter, and it is that which is creating a problem and giving all manner of insecurity to the issue.

“As a lawyer, I am not happy with what the police are doing to my client. I urge all security agencies to arrest individuals only when they have concrete facts and not act on rumours,” he said in a Joynews interview monitored by theghanareport.com.

Facts of the case before the court

As narrated in court, the complainants are security and intelligence officers, and the accused persons are Chinese nationals.

The prosecution said Aisha had gained “notoriety” for engaging in a series of small-scale mining activities known as galamsey across the
country.

It said in 2017, Aisha was arrested for a similar offence, but she managed to “sneak out” of the country, averting prosecution.

The prosecution said early this year, Aisha “sneaked” into Ghana, having changed the details on her Chinese passport.

The suspect is said to have applied for a Togo visa and went through the borders into Ghana.

Aisha then resumed small-scale mining activities without a license and further engaged in the purchase and sale of minerals in Accra without valid authority as granted by the Minerals and Mining Act.

The prosecution said she engaged in the sale and purchase of minerals with the three accused persons and that intelligence led to their arrest.

All four accused persons are to reappear on 27 September 2022.