Nana Kofi Sarfo Prempeh during a sitting at the Accra High Court on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, gave his evidence in chief in a statement which detailed the impact Aisha Huang’s illegal activities have had on his minerals prospecting business.
Nana Prempeh who is the Managing Director of Volta Resources Company Limited said his company in 2013 legally acquired a concession land from Realistic Company Limited for mineral prospecting.
The witness tendered into evidence documents, letters of correspondence and receipts detailing the transaction between his company and Realistic Company Limited as well as approval and permission from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Lands Commission.
The witness said he came to know the accused person through her illegal mining activities which encroached his company’s prospecting concession covering a land mass of 70.82 square kilometers and stretching through communities such as Komamyem, Kromkrom, Bepotenteng, and Nimbreso in the Ashanti Region.
Nana Prempeh said the prospecting activities of his company were rendered ineffective because of the illegal mining activities of the accused person.
He added that various attempts by his company to evict the accused person from the land proved futile.
According to the witness who is also a divisional chief of the Asante Akyem Agogo Traditional Council said his company among other efforts reported the issue to the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) as well as the traditional leadership of the Bekwai Traditional Area.
The witness tendered evidence proof of a letter dated June 3, 2015, and addressed to the REGSEC complaining about the illegal activities of the accused person on his Nimbreso Concession.
Volta Resources according to the witness also filed a court suit on February 11, 2017, at the Bekwai Circuit Court for which the court in April 2017 granted an ex parte injunction against the accused.
The witness also tendered into evidence news publications about the illegal activities of the accused person as well as a letter written to the Inspector General of Police on June 8, 2017, complaining about the failure of some arresting officers to seize equipment used by employees of the accused when they were arrested on in 2017.
“In conclusion, I wish to state that the activities of the accused have caused tremendous damage to Volta Resources,” the witness told the court.
Aisha Huang is facing charges for engaging in mining and the sale of minerals without a license.
She was recently arrested in Ghana following her repatriation in 2018.
Aisha Huang, who is said to have been engaged in illegal mining upon her return to the country, according to the prosecution entered the country using forged documents and identity.
Hearing of the case is scheduled to continue on Monday, November 21, 2022, with the defence counsel expected to cross-examine the prosecution’s third witness.
GA/FNOQ
Aisha Huang was arrested and deported in Ghana in 2018 for engaging in illegal mining