A Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Patrick Boamah, has clarified that the public announcement to issue a Ghanaian passport to American streamer Darren Watkins Jr., popularly known as IShowSpeed, does not automatically complete the process.
According to him, the YouTube sensation must still fulfil all legal requirements outlined under Ghana’s amended Fees Act, 2025, before a passport can be officially granted.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News on Wednesday, January 28, Boamah explained that while some administrative procedures may be relaxed, the law cannot be bypassed.
“So if he’s not a Ghanaian and wants to obtain—or the Minister has announced that he was going to be issued with a passport—then he has to go through the processes at the Ministry of the Interior to either be naturalised as a Ghanaian or granted dual nationality, which is allowed, before he can be issued with an ordinary passport,” he stated.
Boamah further clarified that the Foreign Affairs Minister did not indicate that IShowSpeed would receive a diplomatic passport.
“The Minister also did not say he was issuing a diplomatic passport. Speed does not fall within the ambit of Section 7, which deals with special passports for public officers and citizens of Ghana,” he added.
He stressed that regardless of public enthusiasm, the legal framework governing citizenship and passport issuance must be respected.
“They may waive certain steps for him, yes, towards the acquisition of the passport, but he has to go through the law,” Boamah emphasized.
