Renowned investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni has criticised the government's handling of foreign nationals involved in illegal mining activities, otherwise referred to as galamsey.

In a post shared on his X page on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, he recounted a request he made in 2021 to the prisons service on data on inmates in prisons across the country.

"In 2021, my team applied to the Ghana Prisons Service and obtained data on inmates in Ghana’s prisons. The data included the nationality of the prisoners serving in Ghana’s prisons. It revealed that only one Chinese national was in our prisons. His offence was not named. (Perhaps he committed a crime against a private person, even his fellow Chinese here).

"This was shocking because years and months preceding our request for the information, hundreds of Chinese had been arrested for illegal mining in Ghana," he narrated.

He further disclosed that while some foreign nationals from African countries had been imprisoned for galamsey activities, the story was, however, different with Chinese nationals.

"At the same time, hundreds of Ghanaians, Nigerians, Burkinabes, and other Africans were serving jail terms for illegal mining. In one instance reported in the news, the judge ordered that after serving their jail terms for illegal mining, the Nigerians jailed 20 years each should be deported," he noted.

He criticised the seemingly double standards in the treatment of foreign nationals involved in galamsey.

"Even though the government uses the term foreigners, Nigerians who commit crimes in Ghana are often arrested and prosecuted. But the Chinese who engaged in the destruction of our forests and water bodies and flout our laws are allowed to go back home and enjoy the wealth they make here.

"If this happened elsewhere, we would call it racism, but this is happening in Ghana. If you jail a Nigerian for 20 years for illegal mining and ask his Chinese counterpart to go home in peace, what should we call that?" he asked.

He continued,"If Ghanaians did this in China, would they get away with it, especially when the government has confirmed that illegal mining is a threat to our national security? Mr President, is this how you swore to defend this country?"

His remarks come in the wake of comments made by the Minister of the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntanka, that the government is implementing a new policy to protect the country’s environment and shield citizens from fraud perpetrated by foreigners operating in Ghana.

He explained that under the new policy, foreigners arrested for engaging in either galamsey or cyber fraud would not face prosecution in the country but would be repatriated.

Read his post below:

RACISM AGAINST BLACKS IN GHANA?
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In 2021, my team applied to the Ghana Prisons Service and obtained data on inmates in Ghana’s prisons. The data included the nationality of the prisoners serving in Ghana’s prisons.

It revealed that… pic.twitter.com/ECjwWD0ht3

— Manasseh Azure Awuni (@Manasseh_Azure) April 9, 2025