Acting US Ambassador (Chargé d’Affaires ad interim) to Ghana, Rolf Olson, has briefed Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on progress made in the Javits Frimpong investigations.
Mr Ablakwa stated that both Ghana and the United States strongly agree that everything must be done to secure justice for Javits, who was shot and killed in the Bronx.
Mr Ablakwa also used the opportunity to commend the US Embassy in Accra, President Trump and Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani for their swift assistance in issuing visas for the mother of Javits and his cousin.
Javits’s mother has arrived in New York and has asked for justice. No arrest has been announced.
President John Dramani Mahama also asked the United States to deal with gun violence and the ease of buying a firearm, after 15-year-old Javits Frimpong was shot dead in New York.
He said it on Thursday, November 5, at a meet-the-press session with the Presidential Press Corps at Jubilee House, after his return to Ghana.
“It is not common over the years for several Ghanaians to have been killed in violence in the United States.”
“The issue with Javits Frimpong is, he was so young, 15 years old, and had just been in the United States barely a year to join his father, and this happened,” the President said.
Following a meeting with Mr Rolf Olson to a farewell meeting at the Foreign Ministry on Monday, November 8, Ablakwa said that Ghana and the US do not always agree on all matters such as our recent disapproval of the US health pact and our principled position on reparatory justice, however, we deeply value our ancestral friendship and solidarity.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our diplomatic missions across the world will continue to prioritize the welfare and dignity of all Ghanaians abroad,” nhe said.
He further noted that Rolf has been an incredible friend of Ghana during his duty tour. “I am delighted to point out that we achieved a lot together. Notable accomplishments include the successful negotiations with US authorities in Washington to take Ghana out of President Donald Trump’s visa bans.”
He added that the Government of Ghana also got the 5-year multiple visas restored.
“Ghana is among very few countries to achieve these reversals. Ghana also secured a special dispensation under President Trump’s new tariff regime. Our textile industry was protected with the AGOA extension,” he said.
He also idcated that “We collaborated beautifully in the aftermath of Hurricane Melisa to airlift Ghana’s gallant troops to Jamaica to assist with rescue and reconstruction efforts.
