Ghanaian Dean’s List Students Jailed & Dismissed from Lehigh

4 Ghanaian Dean’s List Students Jailed and Dismissed from Lehigh University

Dear Everyone,

Last Monday, four of my friends and active members of the Lehigh University Community were arrested by the Northampton County Corrections Department. They are now in jail with violent offenders. These college students came to the U.S. to improve the lives of their families and never imagined they would end up imprisoned. They have also been dismissed by Lehigh University. They were taken into custody by the police Monday morning around 7 am and are facing charges of Theft of Services, Acquisition of Service Forgery, and Uttering Forged Writing. This situation arose due to inconsistencies between their high school transcripts sent to Lehigh and the ones in their high school’s database. Lehigh University claims they committed fraud against the school.

Despite these allegations, these students were integral members of the Lehigh community and had excellent academic records. They have been in prison for the past week and do not have the financial means to navigate this situation and advocate for their rights. Below is more information about each of these former students:

Otis Opoku: Otis, a junior majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science, had just returned from a successful Microsoft internship and secured a return offer for next summer. He has been using most of his Microsoft paychecks to support his siblings' education in Ghana and provide for his father, who works at a roadside kiosk. Otis was also paying for Evans to stay in a room this summer because Evans was homeless.

Evans Oppong: Evans had just finished his freshman year at Lehigh in the College of Engineering. Unable to find an internship or summer job, he was homeless over the summer. Otis was covering the cost of his accommodation, and Evans spent many nights in a room with no electricity. He has been on the Dean’s List every semester and dedicates himself to his studies at the expense of his social life.

Cyrilstan Sowah-Nah: Cyril is well-known at Lehigh as a dancer for the African Renaissance dance team and has performed at various school events. Despite being only in his second year, he was awarded One Love Africa King at a school event and worked as a Mountaintop Research Intern for the College of Health over the summer.

Henry Dabuo: Henry also worked as a Mountaintop Research Intern this summer. He is a dancer and performer for African Renaissance. Having completed only his freshman year, he often sends money back to his family and friends in Ghana. Henry is known for his joyful spirit and bringing laughter to those around him.

Your financial support will help ensure these students’ rights are not violated. This includes covering lawyer fees and any resources needed to secure due process. They currently have no lawyer and are being assigned a public defender. Their families in Ghana cannot assist financially, as these students were the breadwinners for their families. Their next court date is September 24th, so it is urgent that we rally support to meet their financial needs.

The proceeds from this campaign will be used for the following, and we will be completely transparent about it:

These are not criminals. They are facing severe challenges and need our help now. Please support them in this critical time.

Thank you for your generosity.