Opposition National Democratic Congress presidential candidate John Mahama scolded the government for releasing Chinese nationals caught engaging in illegal artisanal mining (locally known as galamsey) while locking up locals for doing the same thing.
“Our youth have been imprisoned for their involvement in galamsey, but it is surprising that a Chinese national and galamsey queen was arrested for the same crime and later freed and repatriated to her country,” he told supporters recently on a campaign swing through western Ghana.