How Aisha Huang got her Ghana Card

Female illegal mining (galamsey) queenpin of Chinese nationality, Huang En alias Aisha Huang has found her way back into Ghana some four years after she was deported from the country.

Her re-entry which came to light following her arrest has generated public furore after it emerged that she acquired a non-citizen identity card from the National Identification Authority after returning back into the country.

The NIA following the reports has sought to clarify the circumstance leading to the issuance of the card.

Below are the details of how Aisha acquired her Ghana Card:

She first got a foreigner identity card in 2014:

The NIA in a statement indicated that the female Chinese national first acquired a foreigner identity card on February 26, 2014, using the name Huang En at the Foreigner Identification Management System (FIMS) registration centre at Nhyiaeso, Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region (passport attached).

Her biometrics were captured and she was issued with a Non-citizen Ghana Card.

Aisha Huang renewed her card in 2016 and 2018 before deportation:

According to the NIA, ‘she subsequently did two more renewals on 31″ August 2016 and 8″ January 2018, using the same details and Chinese passport number G39575625. Throughout all these registrations her details remained unchanged,” the NIA said.

Aisha Huang renewed her 2014 Ghana Card after attempting failure to register a new one – NIA

In 2022 however, the NIA says it recorded an incident at its registration centre in Tamale where a Chinese national who filed an application as a first-time foreign national applicant had her details matching with that of an existing application in NIA’s system.

“The registration, however, went into a technical state known as ‘RejectedDueAFIS’, which meant that the biometrics of RUIXIA HUANG possibly matched that of an already existing person in the NIS database. The registration officer, therefore, sent a request to the technical support team for further investigations. This revealed that, based on the biometrics provided, “RUIXIA HUANG” had previously registered as EN HUANG in the FIMS record under the NIS database.

According to the NIA Aisha Huang when confronted about the situation claimed she had changed her name and as per normal practice of the NIA was asked to provide “an official certified affidavit and a gazette as required by law to support the change of name if the details in the passport with number EJ5891162 were to be used to update her old records.”

The Authority said the applicant was given two options: either for a new card to be issued to her with her new details after verification of the supporting documents or be issued with a renewed card with no changes to her details in the NIA system.

She is however said to have chosen the second option based on which she was issued a renewed non-citizen Ghana Card on August 25, 2022, with the name and date of birth En Huang and July 7, 1986 respectively.

Aisha Huang’s new card:

Per the NIA’s narrative, the Ghana Card Aisha Huang possesses now is a renewed Non-Citizen Ghana Card issued to her on August 2022 bearing her old details.

“HUANG EN opted to renew with the old details and then go through the affidavit and gazette process later, after which she would then provide the documents for the update to be done. Her renewed Non-Citizen Ghana Card was then issued to her on 25 August 2022, bearing the old details. This card is what is now impugned and trending on social media,” the Authority added.

Background:

On Monday, September 5, 2022, the Accra Circuit Court 9, presided by Samuel Bright Acquah, remanded a Chinese national, Aisha Huang, into custody.

This was after Miss Huang, together with three other Chinese nationals, was brought before the court on charges including engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without a license and mining without a license.

Ms. Huang, who was described as “untouchable” on some media platforms, was in 2017 charged with undertaking small-scale mining operations contrary to Section 99 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).

She was also charged with providing mine support services without valid registration with the Minerals Commission, contrary to Section 59 and 99 (2) of the Minerals and Mining Act; and also charged with illegal employment of foreign nationals (in breach of section 24 of the Immigration Act and regulation 18 of the Immigration Regulations).

She was later reported to have been deported from Ghana. Her deportation meant the state discontinued the trial against her.

Her arrest has led to calls for the heads of various state institutions and their leadership.

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Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Kofi Bentil, in a Facebook post, called for the dismissal of the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority, Professor Kenneth Attafuah.