The Police Headquarters District Court has sentenced a Cameroonian and Togolese to 36 months imprisonment each in hard labour for illegally acquiring Ghana Cards and birth certificates.

31-year-old Samuel Sagbo, a barber from Togo, and Edwin Nwanchan Ndum alias Edwin Mensah, 37, an unemployed Cameroonian, were ordered by the Court to pay a fine of GH₵18,000.00 and serve an additional 36 months each in default.

The two foreigners were arrested when they attempted to acquire Ghanaian passports after they had posed as Ghanaians.

Sagbo and Ndum admitted that they attempted to obtain Ghanaian passports by false declaration, obtaining Ghanaian birth certificates by false declaration, obtaining Ghana National Identity (ID) cards as well as illegally entering the country.

The Court presided over by Rosemond Vera Aryeetey Ocloo sentenced them accordingly to serve a prison term of 12 months each and pay a fine of GH₵500 penalty units on each charge (equivalent to GH₵6,000.00) for attempting to obtain the passports, obtaining the birth certificates and obtaining the Ghana ID cards.

Sentences on the first three offences are to run consecutively.

However, the Court said that the sentence for the attempt to obtain the passport and the illegal entry should run concurrently for the two foreigners.

The prosecuting officer, Inspector of the Ghana Immigration Service, Jerry Foster Segbefia told the Court that Ndum was arrested on August 1, 2024, at the Premium Passport Application Centre, close to Kwame Nkrumah Circle whilst undergoing the process of acquiring a Ghanaian Passport on suspicion of doubtful nationality.

He said Sagbo was also arrested on August 2, 2024, at the Tema Station application centre.

Inspector Segbefia said they were subsequently referred to the Enforcement Department at the Immigration Headquarters for further investigations.

He explained that the information on the birth certificate of Ndum showed he was a Ghanaian born at the Akim Achiase Health Centre in the Eastern Region to Benjamin Mensah and Joycelyn Acquaye both Ghanaians.

In regard to Sagbo, he indicated he was born at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to Marc Sagbo and Happy Dossa, which he claimed were Ghanaians but both Sagbo and Ndum could not lead investigators to their said parents in Ghana.

Inspector Segbefia said GIS found out that Sagbo was a Togolese born in Aneho in Northern Togo to Mr Sagbo and Madam Dossa both Togolese, which contradicted the information on his birth certificate.

The Court also heard that investigations revealed that the Cameroonian was born at Anong in the North-West Region of Cameroon to Ayang John Nwachan and Grace Atam, both Cameroonians and that the information on the Ghana birth certificate was false.

The Prosecution said both Sagbo and Ndum entered Ghana through an unauthorised border crossing point around the Aflao border post but Ndum came to Ghana in February 2023 where he stayed at Dansoman with some Cameroonian friends. Sagbo was in Ghana on February 28, 2022, and worked at various barbering salons before renting his shop in Accra.

Sagbo and Ndum told investigators that, they wanted the Ghanaian passport to travel abroad in search for greener pastures, Inspector Segbefia said.

He told the Court that they contacted different agents who acquired the Ghanaian birth certificates at different fees.

The same agents bought, completed online passport application forms, and booked an appointment date for them to appear in person to finalise the process at a total cost of GH₵2,700 for Ndum and GHC1,200 (birth certificate and passport) for Sagbo, the Court heard.

However, luck eluded them and they were arrested during the vetting process.

Inspector Segbefia said further investigations revealed that Ndum and Sagbo had acquired the Ghana Cards during the 2024 mass registration exercise.

“He is known as Nwachan Edwin Ndum and not Edwin Mensah,” GIS told the Court.

In their cautioned statements to investigators, they admitted the offences. Inspector Segbefia said they were therefore arraigned.

Before the sentence was passed, Inspector Segbefia prayed the Court to impose a custodial sentence on the convicts by taking judicial notice of the diplomatic problem that happened between Ghana and the USA in 2019 where the US refused to give visas valid for more than six months to members of the executive.

“This happened when Ghana refused to accept some number of persons holding Ghanaian passports due for deportation to Ghana from US simply because the Ghanaian authorities doubted their citizenship though they were in possession of Ghanaian passports.”