Ghana has become the first West African nation to formally accept deportees from the United States, after receiving 14 returnees under a new agreement with Washington.
President John Mahama confirmed the move at a press conference on Wednesday, saying the deal allows Ghana to take in West Africans deported from America, in line with the region’s visa-free travel protocols.
The 14 deportees, who include Nigerian and Gambian nationals, arrived in Ghana earlier this week. They are expected to make their way back to their respective countries in due course.
The decision places Ghana alongside Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan, which have also accepted deportees in recent years. It marks the first time a West African country has publicly agreed to work with the US on such removals, amid a stepped-up deportation drive under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Mr Mahama insisted the arrangement was consistent with West Africa’s long-standing rules on freedom of movement. “We agreed with Washington that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West African nationals don’t need a visa to come to our country,” he told reporters.
Human rights campaigners have raised concerns about conditions facing some deportees on the continent. In Eswatini, five men deported from the US in July were reportedly held for seven weeks in a maximum-security prison without charge or access to legal representation.
Critics also argue that many of the African states accepting such agreements face scrutiny for their own human rights records and have been under mounting diplomatic pressure from Washington. Nigeria, which has the largest number of migrants deported from the US to West Africa, has so far refused to enter into a similar deal.
President Mahama did not disclose whether any of the 14 deportees admitted to Ghana had criminal records. “West Africa has a protocol of free movement. Any West African is welcome in Ghana,” he added.
