A Ghanaian chief has been slapped with a two year jail term in America after spending 20 years as a fugitive in Ghana.

The Ghanaian chief Joseph Darkoh is facing a two year jail term in the United States after fleeing to Ghana in 1997 in a bid to avoid charges of importing heroin into America.

The 68 year old turned himself at JFK Airport saying the whole event was "killing" him.

State prosecutors in Brooklyn pushed for a five to six year jail sentence but the judge sitting on the case settled for two years on age and “what appear to be very serious health conditions.”

In 1997, Darkoh who holds dual citizenship was arrested and arraigned on an indictment that accused him and others of importing heroin through JFK Airport.

He fled America to Ghana where he became a village chief only to turn himself in to America after 20 years as a wanted man.

Brooklyn prosecutors have argued that Mr Darkoh may have turned himself in in order to benefit from America's prison health orientation while his lawyers insist he did the deed only because it was weighing down on him.

During his trial, Mr Darkoh pleaded for leniency while he claimed he tried several times to turn himself before 2016.

America's prison doctors suspect Mr Darkoh may be suffering from lung cancer even though he insists he never knew he was sick.

"I never knew i was sick" Darkoh said after being sentenced.

More to follow...