Ablakwa to send delegation to Latvia over Ghanaian student strange death

Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says Latvian authorities will receive a Ghanaian delegation in Riga on January 20, 2026, to pursue justice for Nana Agyei, a Ghanaian student studying in the country, who died under strange circumstances.

In a post on X on Saturday night, Mr Ablakwa said Latvia’s Foreign Ministry had officially responded to his request and confirmed readiness to engage Ghanaian officials as investigations into the death of the 18-year-old student continue.

“On the matter of ongoing investigations and justice for Nana Agyei, I can confirm that the Latvian Foreign Ministry has officially responded to my request,” he wrote. “Latvian authorities shall be ready to receive my delegation in Riga, Latvia on the 20th of January, 2026.”

Describing the visit as crucial, the Foreign Minister added: “Looking forward to embarking on this important journey in the pursuit of truth and justice.” He said he would continue to provide updates “in the interest of transparency, accountability and justice.”

Mr Ablakwa stressed that the Mahama administration places high value on the lives of citizens wherever they may be.

“The Mahama administration values every Ghanaian life either at home or abroad; we are prepared to do whatever it takes to safeguard the dignity of all Ghanaians,” he stated.

The case dates back to June 2025, when Nana Agyei Oduru Ahyia, a first-year Electrical Engineering (Adaptronic) student at Riga Technical University, died under circumstances his family describes as suspicious. Nana Agyei, who enrolled at the university in July 2024, was living in an apartment on Baznicas Street in Riga.

According to relatives, on June 1, three days before his death, he sent a voice note claiming he had been poisoned. On June 4, the family was informed that he had allegedly fallen from the sixth floor of his apartment and died.

“We received news that he fell from the sixth floor and died. But we said, no, that cannot be true,” said family spokesperson Sarah Nimli. “There’s no way he would commit suicide.”

Ms Nimli said the family wrote to Ghana’s Foreign Ministry, the university and Latvian police, but felt their concerns were not being adequately addressed.

“We realized the police were not responding and appeared to be covering up because the people involved were Latvian nationals,” she claimed.

Following the lack of clarity, a relative travelled to Latvia with a representative from the Ghana Embassy in Berlin, which has oversight responsibility for Latvia, to seek further explanations. The planned January 2026 delegation is expected to deepen diplomatic engagement and press for answers surrounding the teenager’s death.