Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey is expected to appear before Parliament to answer questions about the status of the two Guantanamo Bay ex-detainees being kept in Ghana.
The two, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby of Yemeni origin are among 17 detainees transferred from the prison camp in Cuba by the United States.
The decision to host the detainees in Ghana provoked a firestorm of controversy and outrage among Ghanaians, with many expressing fear that the move would undermine Ghana’s internal security and expose the country to attacks from religious extremists.
An International Relations expert, Professor Keith Bluwey, had said that the decision was “reckless” and “dangerous”, adding that the government was only interested in the financial benefits that it may derive from it.
“It is not in our interest, these people are not ordinary refugees who are being found places of rest, these are criminals, terrorists to the core, Osama Bin Laden activists and they should have no place in Ghana,” he said.
Last month, however, the Supreme Court of Ghana ruled that the two are living illegally in the country.
According to Starr News’ Parliamentary correspondent Ibrahim Alhassan, the minister is to present a paper outlining whether or not to keep the two or send them back.
