After being misidentified as a child by German police, Yaw Dabo was saved by his passport.

Actors Big Akwes and Yaw Dabo from Ghana recently had a humorous encounter with German police, illustrating the more humorous side of the difficulties that Dabo’s size may cause while traveling overseas. Big Akwes told the amusing story of how a normal vacation to Hanover devolved into a comedy of errors when appearing on Okukuseku The Talk Show with Emelia Brobbey. Big Akwes laughed as he started, “We were driving through Hanover, and everything seemed fine until the police pulled us over.”

He clarified that the officers had seen Yaw Dabo dozing off in the backseat of their car. He laughed at the recollection and continued, “They believed he was a child traveling without adequate supervision.” Then Big Akwes went on to describe how the officers came to him worriedly. “They approached me directly and inquired, ‘Where is the babysitter for this child?'” After a brief period of confusion, I understood that they were referring to Dabo. I had to rouse him up at that point and give him the rundown.

Dabo protested, but the officers weren’t convinced and demanded further information. “They still believed he was a minor even after he woke up,” Akwes stated. “I had to show them his age and take out his passport.” They didn’t recognize their error until they had confirmed his details. Big Akwes explained how the officers promptly apologized after being humiliated by the miscommunication. They acknowledged that it was an honest error and were quite courteous. To be honest, I don’t blame them,” he smiled. “Anyone could have assumed that given Dabo’s size and youthful appearance.”

Although humorous, the narrative draws attention to a recurrent topic in Yaw Dabo’s life—that his small size has frequently resulted in these kinds of miscommunications. “After that, we laughed about it,” Akwes remarked. “Dabo handled it well, but it only serves to highlight the particular difficulties he still faces as an adult.”