Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has commended the Attorney-General for opting to appeal the lenient sentencing given to Aisha Huang, the Chinese galamsey kingpin.
On Monday, December 4, 2023, an Accra High Court sentenced Aisha Huang to four and a half years in prison along with a fine of GH₵48,000. This verdict has sparked concerns among various stakeholders and citizens who perceive it as too lenient.
Prominent figures such as Inusah Fuseini and Professor Frimpong Boateng have raised questions about why Aisha Huang was prosecuted under the old mining Act instead of the amended Act.
Responding to these concerns, Attorney General Godfred Dame released a statement on Tuesday, December 5, expressing his intention to appeal the ruling in pursuit of more severe penalties.
Martin Kpebu believes that the Attorney General’s decision to appeal will enhance the confidence of the citizenry in the constitution.
“It’s good that the Attorney General is going on appeal, it will strengthen our jurisprudence so that is good. Because let’s not forget that justice emanates from the people so where there is a groundswell of disappointment with the sentence and citizens are asking that why can’t we use the new law, it’s good to test the law,” he said on JoyFM’s Top Story.
The legal practitioner stated that he had been one of the individuals who tested several laws in the Supreme Court, even though many people had doubted his chances of winning.
“There is no harm in trying, so it is good the Attorney General is saying that he is going to go on appeal. That is good. Let’s test the law,” he added.
In response to the Attorney General’s statement, cautioning the public to refrain from making comments that could compromise the efficient administration of justice and undermine the fight against illegal mining, Mr. Kpebu strongly disagreed with this particular aspect of the statement.
He argued that permitting citizens to express their opinions, even when they disagree with certain decisions, ultimately serves democracy better.
“Justice emanates from the people, so sometimes you can have a clear law but where it does not sit well with the citizens, out of the noise the citizens make, we are able to fashion a new law. So, this one it is good,” he added.
Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, clarified the reasons behind the comparatively lenient prison term and fine imposed on Aisha Huang. He explained that Aisha Huang was prosecuted for her involvement in illegal mining operations between 2015 and 2017, a period when the amended law had not been enacted.
Tuah-Yeboah emphasized that there was no evidence of Aisha Huang’s engagement in illegal mining after her return to Ghana in 2022, following her initial deportation in 2018.
“When we arrested her last year [2022], there was no evidence that when she came back to Ghana, she committed illegal mining offenses. We probed into it and we didn’t find any evidence. If there had been, it would have been another matter,” he said.
In response to inquiries regarding why the new law and its corresponding penalties were not applied in sentencing Miss Huang, the Deputy Attorney General clarified that the judge had followed the appropriate sentencing guidelines.
He explained that, as the Chinese national had committed the crimes under the old law, the judge adhered to the maximum punishment stipulated by the previous legislation.
“If you have a new law that has reduced the punishment under the old law, use it. But if the old law is lesser than the new law, use the old law; that is the law,” Tuah-Yeboah explained.
The Deputy Attorney General expressed the Attorney General’s office’s desire for a harsher sentence, citing the minimum sentencing guidelines for foreign nationals. However, he reiterated that the judge had adhered to constitutional provisions and the interpretation act in determining the sentence.