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Sports Minister Refuses Blame In Para-Cycling Team Scandal, Points Finger At Norwegian Embassy
Ghana

Sports Minister Refuses Blame In Para-Cycling Team Scandal, Points Finger At Norwegian Embassy

by  Delali Adogla-Bessa 2 min read
  • The sports minister has criticised the Norwegian Embassy in Ghana for a 'lack of due diligence' in the para-cycling team scandal
  • A Ghana para-cycling team has absconded to Schengen states after arriving in Norway for the Fjordkraft Bergen City Marathon
  • One person has been arrested in the scandal, while the team coach had reportedly passed away after the team arrived in Norway

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Sports Minister, Mustapha Yusif, has criticised the Norwegian Embassy in Ghana for not conducting due diligence in the application process for the para-cycling team members who disappeared in Oslo.

This follows reports that nine out of an 11-member team of Ghanaian para-athletes went missing upon their arrival in Oslo for the Bergen City Marathon this year.

Sports Minister Denies Blame In Para-Cycling Team Scandal
Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, is upset at a lack of rigour from the Norwegian Embassy. Source: GHANA Cycling Federation GCF/Ministry of Youth & Sports-GH
Source: Facebook

Joy News reported that Yussif said he would not take responsibility for the issue.

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Responding to a question in the matter at a news conference in Accra, he said the Norwegian embassy did not verify the identities of the team members from the sports ministry.

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The President of the National Paralympic Committee, Samson Deen, has since claimed his signature was forged.

Deen has also said his outfit did not sanction any travel for members of Ghana's para-cycling team.

George Gyamfi Gyasi, the team's coach, died at the Oslo University Hospital and subsequently died on May 17, 2024. He collapsed on April 28, leading to his hospitalisation, per Modern Ghana.

What has happened in Norway since then?

The Norwegian embassy in Accra has issued alerts to other Schengen and West Diplomatic Missions in Accra to help repatriate the other team members.

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One team member, Nana Antwi, was earlier apprehended and detained in April by Norwegian security officials after attempting to depart for Sweden.

Family of deceased coach missing in Norway

YEN.com.gh also reported that the National Paralympic Committee disclosed that the family of the dead coach of the para-cycling team that absconded in Norway have also run away.

He said the Norwegian embassy requested that relatives of the George Gyamfi Gyasi travel to the country to bring his body home, but they instead also absconded have all gone missing.

Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh

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Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Delali Adogla-Bessa avatar

Delali Adogla-Bessa (Current Affairs Editor) Delali Adogla-Bessa is a Current Affairs Editor with YEN.com.gh. Delali previously worked as a freelance journalist in Ghana and has over seven years of experience in media, primarily with Citi FM, Equal Times, Ubuntu Times. Delali also volunteers with the Ghana Institute of Language Literacy and Bible Translation, where he documents efforts to preserve local languages. He graduated from the University of Ghana in 2014 with a BA in Information Studies. Email: delali.adogla-bessa@yen.com.gh.

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