President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that it was an error on the part of the state to have deported Chinese 'Galamsey Queen' Aisha Huang who was arrested for doing illegal mining in Ghana.

Aisha, who was arraigned in Ghana in 2017 for engaging in illegal small-scale mining at Bepotenten in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region, was later deported in December 2018 by the government.

Her prosecution was halted by state prosecutors when they filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue the case. 

Speaking at a forum at Princeton University during his visit to the United States of America on Friday, 20 September 2019, Mr Akufo-Addo said: “I think the decision to deport Aisha Huang, in hindsight, was a mistake and that is why that process and procedure is being stopped.”

It is recalled that in April 2019, Senior Minister Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, speaking at a town hall meeting abroad, defended the deportation of the Chinese woman, saying: “Putting that lady [Aisha Huang] in jail in Ghana is not going to solve your economic problems. It is not going to make you or me happy, that’s not important. 

“We have a very good relationship with China. Today, the main company that is helping develop the infrastructure system in Ghana is Sinohydro, it is a Chinese Company. It is the one that is going to help process our bauxite and provide about two billion dollars to us."

"So, when there are these kinds of arrangements, there are other things behind the scenes. Putting that lady (Aisha) in jail in Ghana is not going to solve your economic problems. It is not going to make you happy or me happy, that's not important, the most important thing is that she has been deported from Ghana..."

 "...I am saying that there are many other things beyond what we see in these matters and everybody is wide awake, the most important thing is that we have banned this, we have established regulations and we are protecting our environment. That is far more important than one Chinese woman who has been deported out of the country".