British boy, 14, forced to stay in Ghana after losing court case against parents who left him behind
27 February 2025, 13:51
A British teenager has been ordered to stay in Ghana after his parents left him in the West African country over concerns he would get swept into gang violence back home.
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The boy, 14, said his parents had “tricked” him into travelling to the African country by pretending it was to visit a sick relative.
In a High Court hearing, his lawyers asked a judge to order that he be brought back to the UK, the country he had lived in since birth.
"I am from London, England, and I want to go back home," the boy said.
The boy also claimed his parents had "physically and emotionally abandoned’ him.
But a judgment on Thursday ruled that the teenager "is at real risk of suffering greater harm in returning to the UK than if he were to remain in Ghana".
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"I recognise that this is, in many ways, both a sobering and rather depressing conclusion," the judge said, adding that relocating the unnamed boy was within "the generous ambit of parental decision taking".
At a hearing earlier this month, the High Court in London heard that the parents' fears about their son had grown up to the point they decided they had no choice but to take him out of the country.
The boy reportedly had poor school attendance, was aggressive, and had been accused of stealing phones.
He was also susceptible to being groomed and was involved in worrying Snapchat conversations, the court heard.
The judge said the parents' acted out of "desperation and fear", adding that he did "deprecate" their decision.
He added: "It is their case, which I have no difficulty accepting, that they were genuinely worried about his safety. They devised a plan which they both recognise attracts legitimate criticism and involved a deception on their son."
However, the boy has said he was "mocked" and "never settled in" at the school in Ghana.He argued he was not much safer in Ghana, claiming he "could also barely understand what was going on and I would get into fights".
The boy said he was "so scared and desperate" that he emailed the British High Commission in Accra and contacted the charity Children and Family Across Borders.
It is understood the charity put him in touch with lawyers at the International Family Law Group.
The teenager's parents said in a statement on the ruling: "This has been a really difficult time for us all.
"We are grateful to the court for taking the time to consider the case carefully and for reaching the decision it did.
"We'd especially like to thank Dawson Cornwell Solicitors and Rebecca Foulkes of 4PB for their exceptional hard work in this case and tireless efforts to help us protect our son."
