Court remands Aisha Huang after turning down ‘spirited’ argument for her release

Chinese ‘Galamsey Queen’ Huang Ruixia, also known as Aisha Huang, has been remanded into police custody for another two weeks.

This comes after the Accra Circuit Court turned down a request to grant the accused person bail on Wednesday morning, pending further investigations.

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

The deported queen 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.

Aisha Huang, who appeared with three others, spoke through an interpreter.

When the case was called on Wednesday, 14 September 2022, counsel for the accused, Nkrabea Effah Dartey, prayed for the court to grant his client bail.

He stressed that the accused persons have been in custody for 14 days and thus should be ample time for the prosecution to conclude its investigations.

Mr Dartey was also not happy that his client’s case had become a media spectacle, urging the court not to give room for public speculation about the influence of the Executive on the matter.

The retired military captain told the court that denying bail would play out in the media as the court bending to the whims of President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame.

He added that his clients had people of good substance who are willing and ready to stand as sureties for them.

But the prosecution led by Chief Inspector Frederick Sarpong insisted that the investigation is still ongoing and that granting bail would impede its progress.

However, the court presided over by His Honour Samuel Bright Appiah, reasoned that the matter had become an issue of public interest at home and abroad.

Consequently, he remanded them back into custody to reappear on 27 September 2022.

Facts of the case

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.

Attorney General’s assurances

Meanwhile, Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame has assured that the Chinese ‘Galamsey Queen’ Aisha Huang will face prosecution for new and past offences.

A tweet from the AG’s office said it will re-initiate prosecution against Miss Huang regarding her current alleged offences and those of 2017 before her deportation from Ghana in 2018.

To ensure an expedited trial, the Attorney General’s office has thus requested for the case docket from the police.