Gitmo Two sober now – Analyst

Security analyst, Irbard Ibrahim, has said the two former Guantanamo Bay detainees brought to Ghana are now “more sober and mature,” thus, Ghanaians need not entertain any fears about their presence in Accra.

The two – Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, held for 14 years on suspicion of terrorism – were resettled in Ghana after an agreement was reached between the governments of the US and the small West African country.

Ghanaians have expressed fears that the two could liaise with terrorist groups like al-Qaeda to cause have in Ghana Sheikh Ibrahim has moved to quash those fears for the umpteenth time. According to him, after close to a decade and half of being detained, the pair are not as radical as before.

“They have become much more sober, much more mature. I am sure if you meet them at Koala or Osu, you would think they are one of the Lebanese people in Ghana visiting the shopping mall,” he told Chief Jerry Forson on Accra100.5FM's breakfast show, Ghana Yensom on Tuesday.

He revealed that as part of a new look, the two have “shaved their beards”, and are looking different from the hairy-faced images of them circulating on the Internet. “They have changed,” Mr Ibrahim asserted.

He said the pair are not as radicalised as they were when they were arrested in their early 20s in 2001, saying: “They have grown” now compared to when they were arrested 14 years ago.

Mr Ibrahim further assured Ghanaians that there was “strict surveillance” in the movement of the two, and, thus, Ghanaians needed to go about their daily duties without fear.