Ghana was also among the nations that observed that World Peace Day on September 21, 2023.
Sadly it was the same day ‘peaceful’ protestors did not have the peace to protest peacefully.
The protest, dubbed “OccupyJulorbiHouse was marred by police brutalities.
The protestors were hounded and arrested. Freedom of movement and speech were curtailed, as even journalists were not spared brutalities and arrests.
It is reported that BBC journalist, Thomas Naadi and his cameraman were arrested and Metro TV Broadcast Journalist, Bridget Otoo was harassed.
Protest or demonstration is a basic and constitutionally guaranteed right to express their sufferings about the hardships in the economy.
It is usual for people to demonstrate at the seat of government and it is seen across the world, which Ghana must not be an exception.
It will be recalled that some Ghanaians in the UK converged at the forecourt of the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) to demonstrate against President Akuffo Addo a day prior to his submission to the General Assembly.
The Ghanaians demonstrated on another man’s land and were not brutalized but a group of peaceful Ghanaian citizens were harassed protesting in their own country.
Condemning police brutalities
Amid the fallout from the protests, some top guns of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have criticized the Ghana Police Service’s handling of the initially planned peaceful protests.
In a tweet on Thursday, September 21, 2023, former President John Agyekum Kuffuor reiterated the importance of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections in achieving good governance and maintaining peace and security.
Former President Kuffuor tweeted, “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
Others including the Deputy Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Akosua Manu condemned the actions of the protests.
She 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 establishes democratic order and safeguards the rights of the protestors.”
The Minority in Parliament has also slammed the police describing their action as ruthless and barbaric.
In a statement, they expressed their disappointment in the method the police employed and described it as outdated and regressive.
“We are deeply disappointed by the Ghana Police Service’s deployment of a squad of police officers who resorted to brutalizing and arresting peaceful demonstrators in Accra.
“This action is unacceptable in 2023, as these officers used archaic policing methods to counter peaceful protestors exercising their lawful and constitutionally guaranteed rights.”
The legislators urged the police to adopt more modern and progressive approaches to policing.
“We condemn the police officers’ ruthless and barbaric crackdown on unarmed peaceful protestors. The use of 16th-century tactics against peaceful demonstrators tarnishes the reputation of the Ghana Police Service, which has faced widespread criticism for its partisan policing methods in recent years.
“This heavy-handed response is inconsistent with the police’s motto of ‘service with integrity,” the statement added.
Read the Minority’s statement below;
Media Personalities take on the marred protest
Lawyer and broadcast journalist, Sampson Lardi Ayenini had his take on the protests slamming the police for their unprofessionalism.
All lovers of democracy must fight the creeping unconstitutional fetters to citizens’ inalienable birthrights enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution 1992.
We must not leave this to the Democracy Hub or #FixTheCountry.
“A public notice (press release, not a filed application) announcing that an application for an injunction has been filed can NEVER constitute service of that application unless such notice is an order by the court. A court may order service of a process by publication (substituted service) where personal service of the process has been unsuccessful after three or more attempts to serve, and further attempts deemed to cause undue delay or that personal service has become impractical (Order 7 Rule 6(1) of C.I 47).
The police service is a creature of law and not a law unto itself. The Constitution in Article 296 fetters the exercise of discretion where it gives discretionary power in such clear terms that “[w]here in this Constitution or in any other law discretionary power is vested in any person or authority— (a) that discretionary power shall be deemed to imply a duty to be fair and candid; (b) the exercise of the discretionary power shall not be arbitrary, capricious or biased either by resentment, prejudice or personal dislike and shall be in accordance with due process of law…”
Consequently, if what Oliver Barker-Vormawor told Joynews Top Story about having duly notified the police a month ago and that they have even been arranging with them, only days ago, to draw some redlines around the Jubilee House remains factual, then this is such abuse of discretion, bad faith and must not be allowed.
Even worse is the police’s violation of Section 1 subsections 4,5 and 6 of the Public Order Act in the ambush and premature purported application for injunction. Remember, no actual court process has been exhibited to public notice. These provisions of the Public Order Act are clear that the only time the police can approach the court to try to prohibit a demonstration is when these two conditions have first been satisfied:
That upon receipt of the NOTICE of demonstration, it requested organizers to postpone or relocate the event because it has reasonable grounds to believe that “if [the event is] held [it] may lead to violence or endanger public defense, public order, public safety, public health or the running of essential services or violate the rights and freedoms of any other persons”; and
That the organizers have rejected the request, or have failed, within 48 hours after the request, to write to notify police of their willingness to postpone or relocate the event.
If it is the case that the police did not comply with these dictates of the Public Order Act, then it is rather their conduct that threatens law and order and our democracy of the rule of law. Like the EC, the police must be told that they are not doing anybody any favors.
They are hired and paid by citizens to facilitate and not frustrate citizens’ exercise of fundamental human rights.
The action by the police is a shameful ambush violation.
One question remains. Why is the police fond of obtaining injunction ex parte and always at the last hour to stop demonstrations?
Background of OccupyJulorbidemo
The police sent the detainees to the Regional headquarters and later split them up into about eight groups taking them into custody at different police stations in Accra.
The arrests sparked criticism of curtailing the constitutional inalienable rights of citizens to protest.
According to police in a statement released, the Service justified the arrests claiming that the protestors were defying a court injunction served on them.
However, later in the day, almost all the detained protestors had been released from illegal detention on bail.
It remains unclear whether the protest targeting the seat of government will continue.
