By: Beatrice Oppon
An alleged Chinese Illegal Miner, Aisha Huang has denied involvement in any illegal mining activities in the country.
She has also refuted claims that she facilitated the coming of some Chinese nationals into Ghana and employed them to engage in illegal mining.
She said her company did not have a mining licence to warrant her involvement in that activity. She also denied claims that she operates moving machines and other mining equipment explaining that she holds no driver’s license and does not drive at all.
These were contained in her witness statement which was read and interpreted to her in the Chinese language at the Accra High Court where she is being tried for illegal mining offences.
Aisha Huang is before the Court on four charges including entering the country when she had been prohibited from doing so.
The rest are undertaking mining operations without a licence, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in mining operation and illegal employment of foreign nationals.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and currently on remand.
Some of the charges are previous ones against her before the Attorney General entered a nolle prosequi last December 19, 2018 to discontinue a trial against her.
Criminal proceedings were initiated against her in 2017 after her four Chinese employees were arrested for engaging in illegal mining at Bepotenten in the Ashanti region.
According to the facts presented before the High Court, the same day after the trial was terminated, the Comptroller General of the Ghana Immigration Service revoked her permit to stay in the country indefinitely and ordered her repatriation to China.
Aisha Huang was further directed to stay out of the country until the Comptroller General approved her re-entry.
She was put on board an airline enroute to China. She however defied the directive and re-entered Ghana and was subsequently arrested September 2, 2023 at Kumasi in the Ashanti region.
