President Mahama commiserates with families of murdered Ghanaians in US

President John Dramani Mahama has expressed condolences to the families of Javits Frimpong , a 15-year-old boy and other Ghanaian killed in the US.

Addressing the Presidential Press Corps at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, the President described the death of the teenager, who had been in the US for barely a year as tragic.

He said while authorities in the US were investigating the incident, some reports ascribed it to bullying, noting that the broader issue of gun violence and mental health remained a major crisis in America.

“It’s not uncommon. Over the years, several Ghanaians have been killed in violence in the US,” President Mahama added.

He also referenced another case where the body of a 24-year-old Ghanaian was found at a dump site, saying such incidents were not limited to Ghanaians.

“In the world today, there are so many stress factors of modern living.

And so, mental health is becoming a major crisis.

“Sometimes a person can be going through stress that you don’t know… That moment you realise there is something wrong with him he has a gun in hand, and shooting all his colleagues at his workplace, or he goes into a school and starts shooting children,” the President observed.

President Mahama commended the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for facilitating the travel of the deceased’s mother to the US to support the family.

“Again, in New York, the mission visited the family and expressed condolences.

The sector minister has informed the mission to do whatever they can to support the family in these difficult times,” he added.

On Ghana’s engagement with the BRICS, President Mahama said the country’s decision to seek partnership with the bloc did not mean it was drifting to the East.

He explained that since the era of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana had held on to a policy of facing neither East nor West, and that his recent trip to Russia and the partnership Ghana was seeking with the BRICS should be viewed in that context.

President Mahama said formal talks for the BRICS partnership began under the previous administration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

“The process started under President Akufo-Addo and the recommendation was sent to Cabinet. So, we came and met it and Cabinet sat on it and said it was a great idea to be a BRICS partner,” he added.

President Mahama further explained that Ghana was going in for a partnership and not membership of BRICS, just as the country had similar partnerships with the EU, for instance, under the Economic Partnership Agreement.