Liberian Refugee Takes Ghanaian Government to Court

A Liberian refugee, Chausanda Lawrence has sued the government of Ghana in Accra over his missing wife. He asked the court to compel the Ghanaian government to produce his wife and justify why she should not be released.

Mr. Lawrence filed the suit at an Accra Fast-Track High Court with the support of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and the Legal Resources Centre.

In his statement of claim, the plaintiff said his wife has gone missing since Ghanaian security rounded up hundreds of Liberian women and took them to an unknown location, and said he holds the Ghanaian government responsible for her disappearance.

The Executive Director of the Legal Resources Centre Edward Amuzu said the applicant was aware that his wife was at Kordeabe.

But he is seeking an explanation for her continuous detention at Kordeabe.

Mr. Amuzu told journalists in Ghana that the refugees were being policed even at Kordeabe.

This, he said clearly indicated that Kordeabe was not necessarily a refugee center as the Ghanaian government has claimed.

There has been an unfolding drama between the Ghanaian government and the Liberian refugees for the past one month.

Meanwhile, a high-powered Liberian government delegation is to meet President John Kufuor Wednesday to deliver a special message from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The delegation is also expected to capitalize on the opportunity to further discussions on the Ghanaian government’s estranged relations with Liberian refugees.

The Ghanaian Government planned to deport some 600 refugees back to Liberia after they held public demonstrations declared illegal by Ghanaian authorities.

Today’s meeting with President Kuffour comes after a meeting on Tuesday that ended inconclusively.

The Liberian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Olubanke King-Akerele, includes Justice Minster Phillip Banks, Internal Affairs Minister Ambulai Johnson and Deputy Information Minister Gabriel Williams.

Source African Press Agency

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