Two Guantanamo Detainees Heading To Ghana

Something just doesn't add up. Two Guantanamo detainees being transferred to Ghana. Why?

The news said : “Two Yemeni detainees –Mahmoud Omar Bin Atefand Khalid al-Dhuby- held at the controversial US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been transferred to Ghana”.

Both have been held for more than a decade and have never been charged.

Ghana has given permission for the men to stay for two years subject to security clearances, Foreign Minister Hanna Tetteh said.

The West African nation has not previously taken any Guantanamo prisoners.My first question iswhy now ?Then again it may well be that it’s the first time we’ve been asked. And being the hospitable people we’re said to be, we obliged.

Some of us want an explanation on how ‘high-risk’ and ‘medium-risk’ changed to‘no risk’. Or is it ‘low risk’? Those in authority owe some urgent explanations. And quite frankly it’ll helpful if the explanations are well thought-out. What I’ve heard so far is not compelling. It’sunconvincing and certainly not reassuring.

Over a decade in captivity and some people think the detaineeshabour no ill-feelings against their captors and society. Hmmmm...Mandela traits ..not sure it’s a common trait. Try caging an animal for a period, free it after a while and observe its reaction. It’s likely to go for anything in sight.

It’s not likely to offer a ‘thank yougesture’ for freeing it. And in this case we’re dealing with people who have gone through years of ideological indoctrination before their captivity.

Human as I am, I may be wrong. But thisis not something that we ought to risk willingly, unless of course there are compelling reasons!Maybe and just maybe there’s something we the(citizenry) don’t know and may never know in the interest of global diplomacy. Easy way to take ‘cover’.Hmmmm... So what’s in this for mother Ghana? Certainly, not just brownie points!

Try as I have I still can’t get my head round it. Perhaps Parliament will succeed.

Thankfully, Major DerekOduro (rtd), Ranking Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee,has indicated that they will push for an early reconvening of the House to enable the legislators quiz Foreign Affairs Minister, Hanna Tetteh, over this matter.

Isaac Osei,Deputy ranking member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, has also questioned the decision; an indication that he’ll support any effort to examine the matter.

Parliament of Ghana, we’re watching you with bated breath. How many days did you spend on Professor Alex Dodoo and Black Rasta regarding the Ebola Trial matter? Three or so.

Well, for some of us, this detainee transfer matteris priority and thusdeserves total attention. Given the urgency,Parliament ought to reconvene ASAP to put this matter to rest.

We wish the Parliamentarians God’s guidance.