Former Member of Parliament for the Ayensuano Constituency, Samuel Ayeh-Paye, has strongly condemned the actions of some protestors at the recent Democracy Hub demonstration.

According to him, the lawless posture of the protestors can be likened to mentally unstable people.

His comment comes after the exercise held on Saturday, September 21, 2024, which was originally intended to pressure the government to address the illegal mining, also known as galamsey, turned violent and led to the arrest of at least 39 of the protestors.

The arrests followed incidents where demonstrators clashed with the police after they had blocked the intersection at 37 Roundabout, using vehicles and stones, set fires, harassed other road users, and banged on vehicles.

Oliver Barker-Vormawor, one of the event conveners, was captured on several footage pushing down police barricades and removing the key from a police vehicle, which he later threw away.

This led to the arrest of some protestors who have since been remanded into police custody.

Reacting to the development that has raised security concerns going into the 2024 elections, Mr. Ayeh-Paye described the “demonstrators” who turned the exercise into chaos as “mad.”

“How come demonstrators will go for a demonstration and decide to set fire with petrol to the extent that they will remove police car keys and bolt with it?

“So, if you ask me, I will suggest that they are sent to a mental hospital and conduct a test on their brains,” he told Ama Brako Ampofo, the sit-in host of the Angel Morning Show on Thursday, September 26.

Ayeh-Paye in his submission quizzed, “Who in his or her right senses will intend going to the Jubilee House [Seat of Government] on fire?”

He defended his choice of words when pushed by the host if they were not too harsh by indicating that matters of lawlessness in the country should be condemned with the contempt they deserved.

“We are talking about burning lorry tyres on our roads,” Samuel Ayeh-Paye stressed.

At the time of filing this report on Thursday, September 26, 2024, 11 more protestors of the Democracy Hub who appeared in court have been remanded into police custody.

They are expected to reappear in court on Thursday, September 26, 2024. All of them pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit a crime. This brings the total number of demonstrators.

The 11 demonstrators, like the 39 remanded earlier, have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, unlawful assembly, causing unlawful damage, offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace, assault on a public officer, and one additional charge.