The High Court in Accra has ordered the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to pay GH₵960,000 in damages and costs for wrongfully detaining a Ghanaian traveller, Kwabena Baffour Asare, and preventing him from returning to Germany to resume work after burying his mother in Ghana in 2022.
The immigration officers, who were supposed to prevent a police-declared wanted individual, “Kwabena Asare,” mistakenly detained “Kwabena Baffour Asare,” causing a delay that ultimately led to the termination of his employment in Germany.
“The Plaintiff (Mr Baffour Asare) was unjustifiably restrained and prevented from travelling on June 18, 2022, and as a consequence lost his job,” read the judgment delivered by Justice Ayitey Armah-Tetteh of the High Court’s General Jurisdiction division.
The court awarded over GH₵910,000 in damages to the plaintiff, along with an additional GH₵50,000 as legal costs.
Incident at Kotoka International Airport
Mr. Baffour Asare, a Ghanaian resident in Berlin, arrived in Ghana in May 2022 for his mother’s funeral and planned to return to Germany on June 17, 2022. However, at Kotoka International Airport (KIA), after completing pre-boarding procedures, he was stopped by immigration officials who claimed he was on their “Wanted Persons” list.
He was subsequently detained and taken to the GIS headquarters before being handed over to the Ghana Police Service at the Adenta Police Station. After taking his statement, the police determined that he was not the wanted individual and released him.
Despite obtaining a police extract confirming his innocence, Mr. Baffour Asare was once again prevented from boarding his flight on June 18, 2022. He was finally allowed to travel on June 20, 2022, by which time he had already lost his job.
Plaintiff’s case
Mr. Baffour Asare sued the GIS, arguing that the officers acted negligently, unlawfully, and unfairly, leading to the violation of his rights and the loss of his job.
GIS defence
The GIS denied the claims, stating that the name “Kwabena Asare” was flagged in their database following a request from the Ghana Police Service regarding a suspect residing in Germany.
According to the GIS, the police did not provide a photograph of the suspect, but the service nonetheless placed the name on its stop list.
They further explained that when Mr Baffour Asare arrived at the airport on June 17, 2022, the immigration system identified a “94 per cent similarity match” to the wanted person, prompting further checks.
The GIS argued that it was only on June 20, 2022, that they received an official confirmation from the police clearing Mr Baffour Asare, after which he was permitted to travel.
The service maintained that its officers did not act negligently, insisting that their actions were intended to safeguard national security.
Court’s ruling
During the trial, it was revealed that Mr Baffour Asare had presented a police clearance document to the immigration officers during his second attempt to travel, but they disregarded it.
An immigration officer testified that although he contacted his supervisor about the police extract, he was informed that there had been no official communication from the Police Headquarters confirming Mr Baffour Asare’s clearance.
Justice Armah-Tetteh ruled that Mr Baffour Asare’s right to freedom of movement had been unjustifiably violated, and the GIS officers acted negligently.
“The officers exhibited a lack of sensitivity towards Mr Baffour Asare’s situation. Looking at what the plaintiff had gone through the day before, one would have expected the officers of the GIS to act prudently on June 18, 2022, when he made an attempt to travel and showed them the extract,” the judge stated.
The judge added that the officers showed “no regard for Mr Baffour Asare’s interests, resulting in restrictions and restraints imposed on him. As a result, the Ghana Immigration Service is liable to compensate the plaintiff with exemplary damages.”
