Travelling into Ghana with any other passport apart from the ECOWAS travel document comes with a lot of hustle—and even at the airport, officials take a little more interest in you if your passport is different.
Let me make it clear that, I have no problem with officials at the Kotoka International Airport doing their jobs—that is, if it is to ask those coming into the country about their Yellow Fever vaccination status by checking if they have in their possession the famous yellow card.
My problem lies with the obvious inconsistency in the way these checks are being done at the airport, picking on those with foreign passports alone—as if anyone with an ECOWAS (or a Ghanaian passport) has an automatic immunity from the disease and therefore does not have to get the vaccine, even if the person’s place of residence is Europe or America.
I recently travelled to Ghana for a 4-day meeting and after acquiring the needed Ghanaian visa at a short notice, I didn’t think I needed any vaccination—majorly because I was there for just 4 days and I did not even have the time to chase a vaccination.
I was surely putting my health at risk and so were the many Ghanaians (Ghanaian passport holders) I travelled with on the same plane who resided in Europe—and did not take the vaccination.
As done in almost every airport, the passport you hold determines the queue you join—and with signs putting ECOWAS passport holders in one lane and other nationals in another, I had to walk away from a couple I met on the plane.
They are UK residents and had not been to Ghana in almost 5 years but they still had their Ghanaian passports (so they were full blown Ghanaians—have a single citizenship). I shared something in common with the couple and the several others that had joined the ECOWAS queue; we all did not have the Yellow Fever card and we had all landed in the same plane from Amsterdam.
But interestingly, though they did not have the Yellow Fever card, they were not bothered or even asked about the card. Nobody was positioned in front of their queue to check if any of the people with Ghanaian passports had taken the vaccination.
However, two people were stationed in front of the queue for the ‘other nationals’; and their job was to check that any person holding a non-Ghanaian passport (perhaps it included non-ECOWAS passport holders) had the Yellow Fever card in their hands.
I was made to understand it was a mandatory travel into Ghana document, but I soon came to realize, that the many people from Europe with whom I came to Ghana with were not questioned on this—meaning, it was mandatory for people coming into Ghana on foreign passports to have the vaccination but not for a Ghanaian living abroad to do so.
At this stage, I said to myself; this must be a joke. Yellow fever will not discriminate in attack based on the colour of a person’s passport. So if a Ghanaian lived in UK for 5 years, and I did too, why should he be allowed to walk free into the country without needing a vaccination, and yet, I am not allowed because I hold an European passport.
What then is the essence of the airport checking exercise if it’s not reasonably consistent?
Soon, many other Ghanaians who were holding European passports and did not have the vaccination card found the loophole, so they started walking towards the queue for Ghanaian passport holders; and once in the queue, they quickly jump into the other queue (other nationals’ queue) where they were supposed to be.
While this was going on; a lady brought her superior to speak to me about this Yellow Fever card as I was asking a hell lot of questions and the conversation landed us on; how long are you in the country for? I said 4 days—and the superior said; then let him go—that is a short period so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Maybe they cheated for me but my question remains; does Yellow Fever attack people based on the colour of the passport they have in their bags?
How come Ghanaians living abroad (those with Ghanaian passports) are not asked about this vaccination at Kotoka International Airport but a Ghanaian (by birth living abroad) with an European passport is asked and put through a mini hell at the airport if he did not have the Yellow Fever card?
Perhaps these officers were not really checking for the Yellow Fever card; some other language was being spoken to the foreigners who understood them.
Let me end by saying, those Custom Officers at the airport have not changed—they were still asking travellers for money and what they brought them—pretty pathetic and shameful.
What has been your experience at the Kotoka International Airport or any other airport in the world?
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