Court orders Ghana Immigration Service to pay GH¢910,000 in damages for wrongful travel restriction

According to court documents shared by The Law Platform, the High Court, which heard the case, delivered its verdict in favor of the plaintiff, Kwabena Baffour Asare, after the Ghana Immigration Service prevented him from boarding a flight to Germany in June 2022. This incident resulted in the loss of his job, where he had worked for 30 years.

Legal counsel representing the plaintiff, Kwabena Baffour Asare, stated that Asare, a resident of Berlin, Germany, traveled to Ghana in May 2022 to attend his late mother’s funeral and planned to return to Germany on June 17, 2022.

They explained that upon arriving at the Kotoka International Airport and completing the pre-boarding procedures, Asare was apprehended and detained by immigration officials. The officials justified their actions by claiming that Asare was on their wanted persons list and that they were acting on a request from the Ghana Police Service.

He was subsequently taken from detention to the head office of the Ghana Immigration Service and later, on June 18, 2022, handed over to the police, where his statement was recorded. However, the police released him after realising that he was not the person they were searching for and that the incident was a case of mistaken identity.

The person sought by the police also shared the name Kwabena Asare and resided in Germany, leading to confusion and subsequent mistaken identity.

The counsel further added that following the ordeal, the plaintiff, Kwabena Baffour Asare, attempted to board his flight back to Germany later in the evening of June 18, 2022, after being released by the police.

However, he was once again prevented from boarding by immigration officials, who reiterated the same reason—claiming he was on the wanted persons list. This was despite the victim presenting a police extract confirming that he was not the wanted person.

In the end, the counsel disclosed that his client was once again prevented from traveling, a decision they argued violated Baffour Asare’s rights. They further stated that this obstruction led to his job loss in Germany, where he had been earning a substantial income.

Although the defendants, the Ghana Immigration Service, denied the claim, stating that they acted in good faith without any malicious intent and not negligently as alleged by the plaintiff, the judge, His Lordship Justice Ayitey Armah-Tetteh, ruled in favor of the plaintiff.

The judge awarded GH¢910,000 to compensate Kwabena Baffour Asare for his job loss, with a breakdown as follows: general damages of GH¢650,000.00 for negligence and the unjustifiable violation of the plaintiff’s rights, loss of earnings amounting to GH¢250,000.00, special damages of GH¢10,000.00, and costs of GH¢50,000.00 in favor of the plaintiff.

Read the full judgment in court documents shared by The Law Platform below: