Attorney-General to appeal Aisha Huang’s 4-year jail term and ask for longer sentence

The Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has opted to challenge the Accra High Court’s recent four-and-a-half-year prison sentence handed down to Aisha Huang, the notorious Chinese national known for her involvement in illegal mining activities in the Ashanti Region.

The decision to appeal aims to scrutinize the validity of the trial court’s choice to penalize the prominent illegal miner under the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2015 (Act 900). Furthermore, the appeal seeks to ensure the application of the new sentencing framework introduced by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995) in the case of the convict.

In a statement dated December 5, 2023, the Attorney-General urges the public to refrain from making additional comments on the judgment. Such comments, he warns, could not only jeopardize the fair and efficient administration of justice but also undermine the ongoing efforts to combat illegal mining.

On Monday, December 4, 2023, Aisha Huang, commonly referred to as the “galamsey kingpin,” received a four-and-a-half-year jail term from the Accra High Court for her involvement in illegal mining. In addition to the custodial sentence, she was also fined GH¢48,000. Following her imprisonment and fine payment, she is set to be deported.

The charges leading to her conviction include undertaking a mining operation without a license, facilitating the participation of individuals in an unauthorized mining operation, and the illegal employment of foreigners. These offenses were committed between 2015 and 2017, preceding her initial deportation in 2018 after the Attorney-General decided to discontinue the case.

Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, the presiding judge, expressed a desire to impose a longer sentence but cited constraints imposed by the outdated mining law, the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703). This law mandated a maximum five-year jail term for engaging in illegal mining. Act 703 was replaced in 2019 by the Minerals and Mining Act, 2019 (Act 995), which stipulates a minimum 15-year and maximum 25-year prison sentence for convicted illegal miners.

Aisha Huang, accused of playing a central role in illegal mining, had been deported in 2018 but returned to Ghana to resume similar activities. The Attorney-General decided to resume her prosecution in October 2022 for crimes committed before her initial deportation. While she pleaded guilty to one charge, the court found her guilty on the remaining charges based on inconsistencies observed in her defense statements during the one-year, two-month trial.

-The Post Ghana