Kwame Ohene Frimpong, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, has been detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on an arrest warrant linked to the United States, sparking a diplomatic crisis for Ghana on Saturday, May 16.
Parliament’s Clerk, Ebenezer Djietror, disclosed the detention in a Facebook post on May 12, confirming that the Speaker and parliamentary leadership had contacted Ghana’s Mission in The Hague for further information. Majority Chief Whip Rockson Nelson Dafeamkepor revealed the arrest warrant was issued on April 26, and that the MP personally contacted him from custody saying: “Boss, I’ve been arrested.”
Authorities have not officially disclosed the reason for the detention. Dafeamkepor said lawyers were only shown the warrant but were not given a copy, and that US authorities told Ghanaian officials they were under no obligation to reveal the grounds for the arrest.
Legal practitioner Amanda Clinton described the situation bluntly. “Ghana is in a diplomatic nightmare,” she said on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, adding that American policy is not to give a heads-up when dealing with politically exposed persons.
A key legal question surrounds Frimpong’s travel documents. He was travelling on a diplomatic passport but on a private trip, a distinction that Dafeamkepor acknowledged complicates any claim of diplomatic immunity. The Attorney-General has been asked to provide an opinion on whether diplomatic privileges can apply under those circumstances.
Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu noted that the arrest method was not surprising, drawing a parallel with former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who has similarly avoided extradition to the US. Kpebu argued that because securing Ofori-Atta through the Ghanaian government had proven politically difficult, authorities waited for Frimpong to travel before acting. “Extradition is politics,” he said.
Kpebu also called on Ghana to summon the Dutch Ambassador to account for why the MP and his lawyers were not given the reason for the arrest, a demand echoed by Professor Ransford Gyampo, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority, who said arresting a person without stating a reason was becoming far too common in countries that present themselves as democracies.
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga altered his travel plans and flew to the Netherlands to meet with the detained MP and coordinate legal support. Dafeamkepor warned that the situation should not be treated lightly, stressing that once an arrest warrant circulates through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) system, it can affect anyone.
Frimpong, a Ghanaian entrepreneur and independent politician, won the Asante Akyem North seat in the 2024 parliamentary elections, defeating the then incumbent Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi.
