Ghana’s Foreign Minister says Ghana nationals are “killing their fellow citizens in Libya”

BY Libyan Express Mar 08, 2018 - 18:00

A group of Senegalese illegal immigrants, who according to authorities will be deported back to Senegal through the border with Tunisia, are held at the Alkarareem immigration centre in the east of Misrata February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Wednesday, made a startling revelation about the alleged slave trade of African migrants in Libya.

She told a half-full Parliament about how some Ghanaian nationals are involved in the trafficking and exploitation of other Ghanaians through the setting up of camps along the routes across the desert where they exploit and traffic their fellow citizens.

“During the course of the journey, those who were unable to afford transport cost from one point to the other were handed over to “Ghetto Leaders”. The Ghetto Leaders who are mostly Ghanaians have set up camps and or ghettos along the routes, which they operate in collaboration with their partners in Ghana. Per their modus operandi, when a migrant is handed over to them, he will be made to call his family back home in Ghana. His family will then be directed to contact the agent and or partner of the ghetto leader to settle the indebtedness, after which the migrant is released to continue the journey to the next town”, She narrated as reported by GhanaWeb.

“When there is a delay in the settlement of the migrant’s debt, the migrant is tortured and the abusive act video recorded and sent home to his family. However, in the event that a migrant is unable to settle his or her indebtedness, he or she is sent to Ben Walid, another city in Southern Libya, and offered for sale to those in need of cheap labour. This is done with the collaboration of some Libyan nationals”. She added.

The Ghanaian Foreign Affairs Minister said the situation was uncovered when a five-member team that was constituted with the membership from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the Ministry of the Interior, the Research Depart and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) visited Libya to ascertain the facts on the ground and to establish the extent of the involvement of Ghanaians in the alleged slave trade, whether as victims or perpetrators.

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