Ghana recently granted citizenship to 524 people from the Black diaspora, and most were Black Americans. It was the largest group to be granted citizenship at one time since Ghana launched its “Year of the Return” initiative in 2019.

Bowers and her husband, Damon Smith, however, are among the 524 diaspora members, mostly Black Americans, who were granted Ghanaian citizenship in a ceremony in November. Bowers and Smith moved to Ghana from Florida in 2023 after visiting the region several times between them since the '90s.

Ghana recently granted citizenship to 524 people from the Black diaspora, most of them Black Americans, as part of its “Year of the Return” initiative.

Ghana will allow visa-free entry to citizens of all African countries starting in early 2025. The move, approved by President Nana Akufo-Addo in December, makes Ghana the fifth African country to open its borders to all holders of African passports.

All African passport holders are now able to visit Ghana without needing a visa, outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo has said. He announced the plan last month but in his final state-of-the-nation address on Friday he said that the policy had come into effect at the beginning of the year.