The Government of Ghana has approved the appointment of prominent American civil rights attorney Ben Crump to help seek justice for Ghanaians killed in the United States in recent months.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced the decision in a Facebook post, stating that Ghana’s Permanent Mission in New York had been authorised to retain the celebrated lawyer’s services at no cost to Ghanaian taxpayers.
The appointment is part of the government’s efforts to pursue accountability in the deaths of Ghanaian nationals in the United States, amid mounting concern over a series of killings involving citizens in several states.
Ablakwa said the government would pursue every available option to ensure the bereaved families receive justice.
“Ghana will go every length to secure justice and safeguard the dignity of our dear nationals abroad.”
The appointment follows several troubling deaths of Ghanaian nationals across the United States. Some cases have drawn public attention because of the circumstances surrounding them.
One of the victims was 15-year-old Javits Badu-Nkansah Frimpong, who was fatally shot in the Bronx, New York, on October 29, 2026, reportedly while walking to school.
Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, subsequently called for a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the teenager’s death.
Another death that prompted serious concern was that of 24-year-old Joseph Owusu, whose body was found in a large duffel bag abandoned on a pavement in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York, on October 30, 2026.
Owusu, a Bronx resident, had reportedly been missing for about two weeks before his body was discovered by someone searching for scrap metal.
Surveillance footage later showed two unidentified people taking a large black bag from the boot of a white sedan, leaving it on the pavement, and driving away.
Another case is that of 37-year-old Akpene Diamond Tetteh, a Ghanaian doctoral graduate who was shot and killed in Savannah, Georgia, on February 12, 2026, only weeks after earning her PhD.
