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Several prominent members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) have expressed their worries and criticized the Ghana Police Service’s handling of the peaceful rallies in the wake of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests and the ensuing illegal police actions.
Sharp criticisms have been leveled inside the NPP ranks in response to the Day 1 arrests of 49 demonstrators and the following maltreatment of the detainees.
Former President Kufuor
In order to achieve effective government and sustain peace and security, John Agyekum Kufuor underlined his steadfast position on the value of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections.
He stressed the need of adhering to these ideals in a tweet on September 21, 2023, particularly in light of the ongoing demonstrations. Kufour’s tweet read: “Respect for human rights, democracy, rule of law, coupled with free and fair elections are essential to good governance and development of peace and security everywhere.”
Akosua Manu
The National Youth Authority’s (NYA) deputy chief executive officer, Akosua Manu, criticized the police’s conduct during the demonstrations.
She highlighted that regardless of whether an injunction was in effect, the police were not authorized to treat the protesters illegally unjustly. Manu said, “Police cannot treat young protestors in this way, injunction or no injunction. The freedom to protest is protected by the Constitution, and a protest’s legality is independent of its motivation. Establish democratic order with respect, IGP Dampare, and protect protesters’ rights.
Richard Ahiagbah
Richard Ahiagbah, the Director of Communication for the NPP, echoed the sentiment that the right to demonstrate is a fundamental democratic right.
He criticized the police’s decision to impede the demonstrators, stressing that such actions were unacceptable.
Ahiagbah expressed his views, saying, “The ability of the people to demonstrate is an inherent democratic right. Therefore, the decision to stand in the way of citizens’ exercise of this fundamental right is unacceptable.”
in the other part of his tweet, he addressed the protesters: “I don’t agree with the derogatory caption of the Presidency by the organizers of the demonstration, but impeding their right to peaceful assembly is an affront to democracy–plain and simple.”
Ahiagbah went on to highlight that previous peaceful demonstrations had taken place under President Akufo-Addo’s administration and questioned the timing and necessity of the police actions during the recent protests.
Police unlawfully detained 49 demonstrators on Day 1 (September 21) of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstrations organized by the Democracy Hub, a group of young activists. The protestors were marching to demand action against the ongoing economic crisis and corruption.
The police’s handling of the illegal arrests, particularly how they interfered with the freedom to peaceful assembly as guaranteed by the constitution, drew scathing condemnation.
Even while fellow demonstrators and attorneys sought to gain bail for the illegally arrested individuals, police sent the detainees to the regional headquarters before dividing them upto around eight police stations scattered throughout the capital.
Other journalists and demonstrators who gathered in large numbers during this procedure, particularly at the Accra Regional Command, came into contact with some police aggression, including pushing, forced imprisonment, phone confiscation, and in some cases, physical assault.
Police claimed that the illegal detentions were justified in their first of two statements for the day because the demonstrators were refusing to obey a court order imposed on them, which they disputed had been properly served.
The second statement included the alleged detention of a BBC reporter and his cameraman, which they denied in the report.
It is still unclear whether Day Two of the three-day protest against the Jubilee House, the seat of government, would take place today (September 22, 2023), even though practically all demonstrators who had been imprisoned unlawfully according to GhanaWeb checks had been released from illegal imprisonment on bond.
Source:Radiooneghana.com
