The Ghana Paralympic Committee has responded to reports about a paracycling team representing Ghana which is said to have absconded to various Schengen states after arriving in Norway earlier this year, ostensibly to prepare for the Fjordkraft Bergen City Marathon.
The 11-member team failed to register and participate in the competition, which was scheduled for late April.
According to a document released by the National Security Authority on July 3, 2024, a member of the team was apprehended and detained by Norwegian security officials in late April while attempting to travel to Sweden. The same document revealed that the team coach, George Gyamfi Gyasi, collapsed and was admitted to the Oslo University Hospital, where he subsequently died on May 17, 2024.
But according to president of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC), Samson Deen, the Committee has never sought to participate in any event which is a paralympic qualifier in Norway or Oslo.
“The Ghana Paralympic team have not sent anybody, any athlete. We have never applied for a visa at the Norwegian Embassy or sent anybody to get a visa to travel to Norway,” Mr Deen said in an interview with JoySports.
Ghana Paralympic Committee also noted that the documents being cited which had Mr Deen’s signature were forged, adding that the individuals are not athletes the Committee are familiar with.
In response to these events, the Norwegian embassy in Accra has issued alerts to other Schengen and West African diplomatic missions to aid in apprehending and repatriating the team members. The search for the absconded athletes is currently ongoing.
Meanwhile, the National Paralympic Committee of Ghana has suspended Mr. Theodore Mawuli Viwotor, Mr. Ernest Yaw Ayisi, and the Enestay Foundation indefinitely for their involvement in the matter.