Samson Deen, the chairman of the National Paralympic Committee has refuted claims of members of the Paralympic team absconding in Norway.
Earlier, it was reported that an 11-member team alleged to be members of the Paralympic team disappeared in Norway in April when they were scheduled to participate in an event. One member of that team was subsequently apprehended while another died.
But Deen, in a video shared to the media, has revealed that he did not authorise such persons to travel on behalf of the Paralympic team.
“No Ghana Paralympic team member, official, coach, associate member or foreign member applied for a visa through the Norwegian embassy. I am appealing to Ghanaians and we want to make things clear that the Ghana Paralympic team has not applied for a visa. Never have I signed any letter for or on behalf of the Ghana Paralympic team and never have our offices of the Ghana Paralympic team or NPC Ghana applied for a visa at the Norwegian embassy,” Deen stated.
“What you have seen in the media is a forged letter by some group of people who are into disability sports development (Ernestay Foundation). Ernestay is a person with a disability, an amputee who engaged himself in forging documents with a former Ghana Amputee Football Association secretary general with name Theodore Mawuli Viwotor who has since on the 18th of July been suspended indefinitely by the NPC Ghana.”
“The letters with my signatures were forged by these guys, Ernest Ayisi and Theodore Mawuli Viwotor. They fraudulently used my documents to acquire visas for some people who are unknown to the Paralympic family,” he concluded.
Chairman of the National Paralympic Committee, @samson_deen has stated that the 11 absconded para members are not a part of the Paralympic committee#3SportsGH pic.twitter.com/tHoTQFBJuA
— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) July 20, 2024
Team Ghana is currently in Kumasi, preparing for the 2024 Paralympic Games set to come off on August 28.
