Ghanaian Dean's List Students Jailed & Dismissed from Uni.

Hello All!

UPDATE: As of 9/21/2024, we have acquired lawyers to represent each of the boys. The total cost for the lawyers is around $22,000. We have raised a total of $14,786.00 to cover lawyers fees and commissary, but we need more help in order to fully cover the lawyer fees. Please help to share this story so we can raise more money to aid our friends and their families. There are a lot of opinions circling around the boys, but let us remind you that the fact is these boys are intelligent. They were accepted into Lehigh for their minds, their accolades, and their passion to learn.

We are a group fundraising on behalf of our friends

Last Monday, four of our 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. They have not been able to reach their families in Ghana and their only contact has been two friends from Lehigh. 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 internship with a tech company, and secured a return offer for next summer. He has been using most of his internship 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-Nai: 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 the 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.

PSA: In the previous GoFundMe, we were able to raise $9075.00 to help the boys with their legal fees. The previous GoFundMe was paused in order to transfer the responsibilities to an organization, so this is now the official GoFundMe to support the boys. Our original goal of $40,000.00 has changed to $30,925.00 to account for the money we previously raised.

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

The proceeds will be evenly utilized amongst the 4 students. The funds will be transferred to one of the close friends in contact with the 4 boys.

These students 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.