Members of the African diaspora have officially been sworn in as Ghanaian citizens in a ceremony aimed at strengthening the country’s efforts to reconnect with people of African descent across the world.

The event, which took place on Tuesday, March 10, marked what the government described as a significant step in deepening ties between Ghana and the global African community.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang said Ghana remains committed to recognising the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity while continuing to create pathways for members of the diaspora to reconnect with their ancestral homeland.

“Today is a declaration that history may scatter a people, but it cannot erase their identity. Ghana remains committed to being a home for the global African family,” she said.

The Vice President welcomed the new citizens as part of Ghana’s broader vision of fostering closer cooperation between Africa and its diaspora in areas such as culture, trade, and development.

“We believe that the reconnection between Africa and the diaspora will unleash new possibilities for global African cooperation, cultural renewal, and economic transformation,” she added.

She described the ceremony not only as the granting of citizenship but also a symbolic homecoming for people whose ancestors were displaced through centuries of forced migration.

“Welcome home. Akwaaba! Woezor! Obaake!” she told the new citizens.

On his part, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, said the ceremony marked the culmination of a legal and administrative process through which individuals with strong ties to Ghana have formally acquired citizenship of the republic.

According to him, the government, through the Interior Ministry and its partner institutions, remains committed to ensuring that the process of acquiring Ghanaian citizenship is transparent, credible, and consistent with the country’s laws.