The Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has assured families of the 18-year-old Ghanaian allegedly killed in Latvia that government is committed to thoroughly probing the issue.
The Minister made the disclosure during a meeting with the family of the deceased.
He disclosed to the family of the deceased Nana Agyei Ahyia at the meeting that, the government has directed a fact-finding mission from Ghana’s Embassy in Germany, which is also accredited to Latvia, and has been dispatched and has since submitted a preliminary report to the Ministry.
He noted that the Latvian authorities have confirmed that investigations into the circumstances surrounding Nana Agyei Ahyia’s death are still ongoing.
Ablakwa further informed the family that he intends going to Latvia to engage his counterpart and the officials handling the case, adding that the family of the deceased would be part of the delegation.
He further indicated that independent experts will be engaged to review all the investigative reports, as well as the final report expected from Latvian authorities to aid the subsequent approaches in pursuing justice.
Nana Agyei was a first-year Electrical Engineering (Adaptronic) student at Riga Technical University, having enrolled in July 2024.
His life was tragically cut short on June 4, 2025, in what Latvian authorities initially reported as a fall from the sixth floor of his apartment building on Baznicas Street in Riga.
However, the family has strongly disputed this account, citing a disturbing voice note Nana Agyei sent just three days prior to his death—in which he claimed to have been poisoned.
“We received news that he fell from the sixth floor and died. But we said, no, that cannot be true. There’s no way he would commit suicide,” said Sarah Nimli, a family spokesperson.
“I wrote letters to the Foreign Ministry, to the school, and contacted the police. But we realized the police were not responding and appeared to be covering up because the people involved were Latvians.”
Frustrated by the lack of transparency, the family dispatched a relative to Latvia to seek answers. The relative was later joined by a representative from the Ghanaian Embassy in Berlin, which has jurisdiction over Latvian affairs, to engage with local authorities.
Foreign Minister confirms investigations into death of 18-year-old Ghanaian student in Latvia
