The Minister for Youth and Sports,Mustapha Yusif, has criticized the Norwegian Embassy in Ghana for failing to conduct proper due diligence, thereby allowing individuals to enter Norway under false pretenses as Paralympic athletes.
The minister’s comment, made during a news conference on July 24, 2024, comes after nine members of Ghana’s 11-person Para-athletic team were reported missing upon their arrival in Oslo for the Bergen Marathon in April.
According to the Minister he should not be held responsible for something that was not his responsibility.
“The Norwegian authority which issued the Visas to the Athletes didn’t see it prudent to even verify from the ministry to see whether these are genuine athletes or not so to your question whether I take responsibility, I’m sorry I can’t,” Yusif said
He added that diplomatic envoys have questions to answer.
“Diplomatic envoys or foreign service staff have questions to answer. They did not even register for the game. They had no intention to participate in the game,” he said.
In the aftermath, The Accra Times obtained a confidential statement dated July 3, 2024, from the Ministry of National Security to the Youth and Sports Ministry and Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, revealing lapses in the application process.
In response to the scandal, the National Paralympic Committee has suspended three individuals accused of masterminding the incident.
Additionally, Samson Deen, President of the National Paralympic Committee, alleged that his signature was forged, amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Ghanaian Para-athletic team’s incident in Norway, which resurfaced on July 20, 2024.
“We engaged, we checked and we realised that the letter was written, they forged my signature, forged my letter and applied for visas for some people who are not athletes,” Deen said
It would be recalled that the scandal unfolded in April when nine members of an 11-person Ghanaian Para-athletic team went missing in Oslo, Norway, during the Bergen Marathon.
Consequently, team coach George Gyamfi Gyasi collapsed on April 28, 2024, and subsequently passed away at Oslo University Hospital. Separately, Norwegian authorities detained para-athlete Nana Antwi.
Earlier, North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa raised alarm over the Ghanaian Para-athletic team’s incident in Norway, noting that the team had not registered for the Bergen Marathon, suggesting they never intended to participate.
He suspected a larger scheme was at play, citing the team’s ability to bypass protocols and institutions. The Minority, meanwhile, is calling for a thorough investigation into the incident.
