The High Court in Accra has ordered the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to pay over GHc900,000 in general damages and loss of earnings for negligence due to the wrongful arrest of Kwabena Baffour Asare at the Accra International Airport.
This was after the court presided over by Justice Ayitey Armah-Tetteh, found that the immigration service had wrongfully prevented Kwabena Balfour Asare from returning to Germany on June 17 and 18, 2022, after visiting Ghana for his mother’s funeral.
The court held that the immigration service’s conduct was negligent, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
Additionally, the court found that the immigration service had unjustifiably interfered with the plaintiff’s right to freedom of movement, particularly his right to leave the country.
As a result of the immigration service’s actions, the plaintiff lost his job in Germany. Additionally, the court awarded GHc250,000 in damages for loss of earnings, special damages of GHs10,000.00, and costs of GHs50,000.00 in favor of the plaintiff, bringing the total to over GHc900,000.
“On the evidence presented, I conclude that the plaintiff’s freedom of movement, particularly his right to leave the country, was unjustifiably violated by the officers of the 2nd defendant,” the court said.
“The plaintiff’s rights were violated by the officers of the 2nd defendant (GIS). The officers were negligent, and that negligence led to the violation of the plaintiff’s rights and eventually led to the loss of his job. The officers exhibited a lack of sensitivity towards the plaintiff’s situation,” Justice Armah stated.
The court said, looking at what the plaintiff had gone through, “one would have expected the officers of the 2nd defendant to act prudently on June 18, 2022, when the plaintiff made an attempt to travel and showed them exhibit D.”
“They showed no regard for the plaintiff’s interests, resulting in restrictions and restraints imposed on him. As a result, the defendants are liable to compensate the plaintiff with exemplary damages. I will, in the circumstance of this case, award the plaintiff exemplary damages of GHs 650,000.00 against the defendants for the violation of his freedom of movement out of the country,” the court ordered.
It is the further claim of the plaintiff that, as a result of the conduct of the officers of the 2nd defendant, he was not able to get to Germany by June 20, 2022, and, as a result, lost his lucrative job in Germany, where he had worked for 30 years, and he is asking for loss of earnings.
The plaintiff, through his lawyers led by Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, had argued that their client’s employment was terminated even though the plaintiff told the officers of the 2nd defendant that if he did not get to Germany by June 20, 2022, he was going to lose his job.
That claim, the court said, was not contested by the defendants during cross-examination.
“The officers at the airport, having been told by the plaintiff that he would lose his job if he did not get to Germany by June 20, 2022, did not bother to take reasonable care to ensure that the plaintiff traveled in good time to Germany so he would not lose his job.”
“The plaintiff tendered in evidence exhibit G. Exhibit G is a letter of termination of the employment of the plaintiff,” the Court said.
“The reason for the termination, per exhibit G, is that the plaintiff failed to show up for work by June 21, 2022, according to the plaintiff.”
“I will grant him 12 months’ loss of earnings. I will award him GHs250,000.00 as loss of earnings.”
“The plaintiff pleaded special damages of legal fees GHs10,000.00, accommodation in Accra from June 17 to June 20, 2022, transport, and feeding for the days he spent in Accra because of the conduct of the officers. I will award him special damages of GHs10,000.00.
“In conclusion, the court entered judgment for the plaintiff as follows: general damages of GHs650,000.00 for negligence and unjustifiable violation of the plaintiff’s rights, loss of earnings of GHs250,000.00, special damages of GHs10,000.00, and costs of GHs50,000.00 in favor of the plaintiff,” Justice Ayitey Armah Tetteh concluded.
Plaintiff’s case
It is the case of the plaintiff that, in or about May 2022, he arrived in Ghana for the final funeral rites of his late mother, which took place between May 27 and 30, 2022.
According to Plaintiff, on June 16, 2022 when he was due to travel back to Germany, he reported to the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), and after he had gone through all necessary pre-boarding procedures at the airport and was preparing to board his flight, he was arrested by officials of the GIS (2nd Defendant).
He said, he was detained without being told of the reason for his arrest and detention.
The Plaintiff said, he demanded to know the reasons for the arrest and detention but was not informed of same until after persisting and threatening to sue the State that he was informed that, there is an order for his arrest in relation to a crime he is alleged to have committed.
According to Plaintiff while at the Head Office of the GIS (2nd Defendant), he demanded from the officers there to know why he had been prevented from travelling and he was told that, his name was in the 2nd Defendant’s database as a wanted person and that the report was sent to them by the Ghana Police Service.
He said, upon several demands to know the
name and details contained in the database, he became aware that, the name in the database is Kwabena Asare whose name on its face is different from his name
Kwabena Baffour Asare.
It is the case of the Plaintiff that by the said arrest and detention he was prevented
from travelling on June 17, 2022 and his luggage which had already been checked-in, was retrieved and brought back to a holding room where he was being held.
He said he was subsequently moved from the holding room at the airport to the Head office of the GIS (2nd Defendant) around 1.00 am the following day.
According to Plaintiff, he was later on in the early hours of June 18, 2022, transferred to the Adenta Police Station where his statement was taken who subsequently released him after the police noticed that the details sent to the GIS (2nd Defendant) did not match the details of Plaintiff.
The Plaintiff demanded and obtained Police Extract from the Police to show to the Immigration Officers at the Airport when he makes another attempt to travel on the evening of June 18, 2022 to Germany.
According to Plaintiff having become abundantly clear that GIS (2nd Defendant) had the wrong person, it was expected that 2nd Defendant’s Officers would work to ensure that he travelled back to Germany without further challenges.
Further challenges
However, just as happened on
17th June, 2022, while he was undergoing pre-boarding procedures at the airport, he was once again arrested and detained for the same reason.
According to Plaintiff, he showed the officers of the 2nd Defendant the Police extract given him by the Police Service indicating that he was not the wanted Person but, the 2nd Defendant’s Officers disregarded the Police extract and he was again turned away and prevented from travelling.
Plaintiff contends that he was unlawfully, unfairly and negligently prevented from travelling on 17th and 18th of June 2022 because there was no absconding Warrant of Arrest from any Court or an Order demanding his arrest.
According to Plaintiff as a result of the actions of the officers of the 2nd Defendant Plaintiff lost his job in Germany which was relatively earning him a good income.
Defendants denials
Both the the Attorney General and GIS (1st and 2nd Defendants) denied the claim of the Plaintiff in its entirety and contend that the name Kwabena Asare is in their database because they received a letter from the Ghana
Police Service in respect of one Kwabena Asare residing in Germany who is alleged to have committed an offence.
According to the Defendants, the message from the Ghana Police Service was not accompanied by any photograph of the said Kwabena Asare but the 2nd Defendant, however, placed the name on its Stop List.
According to Defendants when Plaintiff got to the Kotoka International Airport on
June 17, 2022 and was going through the departure formalities, Plaintiff’s details popped up in its Immigration Control at the Airport and revealed a similarity match of 94% and that the Officers of the 2nd Defendant had no option than to conduct further checks on
the Plaintiff.
According to the Defendants, it was not until June 20, 2022 that the 2nd Defendant received official communication from the Ghana Police Service that the Plaintiff was not
the wanted person that the Plaintiff was allowed to travel.
The Defendants contend, that the Officers of the 2nd Defendant did not act negligently in not allowing Plaintiff to travel on June 17 and 18, 2022.
The Defendants further contend that they acted in good faith devoid of any malicious intentions and was geared towards making our country safe and secure.
