August 5 – The Ghanaian fans who were seeking asylum in Brazil after the world cup have been granted an initial one-year stay in the country.
More than 200 of the 650 government-sponsored fan delegation went missing in action after failing to board their chartered flight home. Instead they headed in different directions across Brazil looking for work.
At the time, the head of police in Caixas do Solis, said that the asylum seekers were Muslims “fleeing the violent conflicts between different Muslim groups”. However, at least one of the asylum seekers has since countered that claim.
Hamidu Ahmed stated: “We didn’t tell Brazilian authorities that there was conflict in Ghana and for that they should grant us asylum. Each and every one of us came here with his own reason, which is definitely not a conflict situation. We have received our papers and some of us have already started working. Some of us work in industries and others work in the construction sector. Some have however left into neighboring Argentina, Ecuador and the likes. Others are also traveling by road to the USA”.
The Ghanaian embassy was carrying out an investigation into the asylum seekers, after the Deputy Information Minister denied the claims of religious conflict, but the results have, as of yet, not been published.
The minority leader in the Ghanaian Parliament, Osei Jyei Mensah Bonsu, has at the same time asked the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mahama Ayariga, to answer for the amount of taxpayers’ money that was spent on the national teams calamitous showing in Brazil.
He is asking that questions be answered in regard to the travel arrangements for the Ghanaian contingent sent to Brazil, and why so much money was afforded to them at the expense of the state. He also wants an enquiry into how these fans were selected.
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