Revealed! Ghana Rejected One (1) Gitmo Detainee After Assessment

Foreign Minister Hannah Serwaa Tetteh has revealed that the United States offered three Guantanamo inmates for Ghana’s resettlement consideration but the country rejected one.

Ms Tetteh said the two accepted by Ghana were found to be the most compliant in the terror detention camp.

Speaking on Accra-based 3 FM on Thursday, January 14, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration said a comprehensive assessment was conducted by Ghana’s National Security on the three before a final decision was taken.

She added that even Ghana’s Ambassador to the US, Lt. Gen. Henry Smith, who was Minister of Defence in the Atta Mills’ administration, visited the G-bay several time to assess the proposed inmates. She was, however, coy on the details gathered on the suspects.

But the country agreed on Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby because they were among the low-risk category of inmates, she said.

The arrival of the two terror suspects of Yemeni descent has been met with public uproar with some civil society organizations questioning government’s decision.

Most notably the Christian Council of Ghana and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ghana have called for a reversal of the decision.

However, President John Dramani Mahama in a meeting with journalists at the Flagstaff House last Tuesday justified his decision to bring in the former G-bay inmates and rejected rumours that he did so as a result of monetary benefits.

“The US itself would have disclosed if there was any monetary consideration.”

The two - who had been at the camp for 14 years - have already expressed gratitude to the president and the people of Ghana for accepting to habitate them, disclosing how they had supported Ghana’s Black Stars against US’ Yankees in the 2010 World Cup.

The ex-terror suspects will be in Ghana for two years, Ms Tetteh said, and can choose any country to settle after then.