Amid the fallout from the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests and the subsequent illegal police actions, several top guns of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) have voiced their concerns, criticizing the Ghana Police Service's handling of the peaceful demonstrations. Injunction or not, the police cannot treat young protestors in this manner. To protest is a right enshrined under the Constitution and the legitimacy of a protest is not dependent on the cause. IGP Dampare, respectfully establish democratic order and safeguard the rights of the… 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. I don't agree with the derogatory caption of the Presidency by the organizers of the… Unless you transform the lives of ordinary people, you cannot hope to transform Africa.
The arrests of 49 protesters on Day 1 of the protests, along with the subsequent mistreatment of the detainees, have drawn sharp rebukes from within the NPP ranks.
Former President Kufuor
John Agyekum Kufuor reiterated his long-standing stance on the importance of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections in achieving good governance and maintaining peace and security.
In a tweet on Thursday, September 21, 2023, he underscored the significance of respecting these principles, especially in the context of the ongoing protests.
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
Akosua Manu, a Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), condemned the actions of the police during the protests.
She emphasized that regardless of whether there was an injunction in place, the police had no justification to illegally mistreat the demonstrators.
Manu stated, "Injunction or not, the police cannot treat young protestors in this manner. To protest is a right enshrined under the Constitution, and the legitimacy of a protest is not dependent on the cause. IGP Dampare, respectfully establish democratic order and safeguards the rights of the protestors."
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.
Background
On Day 1 (September 21) of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests by the Democracy Hub, a group of young activists; police illegally rounded up 49 protesters who were marching to demand action on the prevailing economic crisis and corruption.
The illegal arrests, especially how they were conducted by the police triggered harsh criticism of impeding the constitutional right to protest and deploying highhandedness on the part of police.
Police sent the detainees to the regional headquarters before splitting them up into about eight police stations dotted across the capital, even as colleague protesters and lawyers worked to secure bail for the illegally detained persons.
In this process, other journalists and protesters who massed up, especially at the Accra Regional Command encountered some amount of police violence including shoving, forced detention, seizure of phones, and in the case of other physical assault.
In their first of two statements on the day, police said the illegal arrests were justified because protesters were defying a court injunction served on them, which process they denied had been properly served.
The second statement addressed the purported arrest of a BBC journalist and his cameraman, which reportage they dismissed as untrue.
By the close of the day, almost all illegally detained protesters per GhanaWeb checks had been released from illegal detention on bail, it remains to be seen whether Day Two of the three-day protest targeting the seat of government, the Jubilee House, will come off today (September 22, 2023).
Am/SARA
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Politics of Friday, 22 September 2023
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
