General News of Monday, 27 April 2020

Source: happyghana.com

It’s sad Ghana police can't enforce court orders – Peter Otukonor

Deputy General Secretary of NDC, Peter Boamah Otukonor Deputy General Secretary of NDC, Peter Boamah Otukonor

Deputy General Secretary for the National Democratic Congress(NDC), Peter Boamah Otukonor, has expressed his displeasure with the police service for failing to go after the Electoral Commission(EC), after they flouted an injunction and the president’s directive on the prohibition of social gatherings.

Speaking in a phone interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, Peter Boamah Otukonor explained why members of the NDC showed up at the premises of the EC’s meeting last Saturday. Apparently, they did so because having that meeting meant that the EC was going against the president’s ’No social gathering’s directive.

Peter revealed that prior to that, the court had already granted an injunction against the EC which prevented them from organizing such meetings even though they claimed it was a regular meeting that they have.

He said, “We reported to the Airport Police that there is an injunction but we hear the EC is having a meeting. Even if there was no injunction, the police have a natural order from the Executive Instrument that the president has issued to go and stop the meeting.”

According to him, it took the police close to two hours to get to the venue, after about an hour of giving excuses that they had to contact their superiors. The NDC representative stated that the police, even upon arrival, failed to take action till the meeting was over and everyone dispersed.

“This is saddening because these institutions have been given the right to enforce direct court orders and presidential orders such that they can go after anyone who flouts these orders but when it gets to cases related to the EC that has to do with the president, his interns and elections, they put the law aside and do as they please,” he expressed.

He opined that if pastors have been arrested and sentenced for going against these orders, the EC should be handled in the same way.