Police in Ghana have arrested several protesters and some journalists during a demonstration in the capital Accra.
The anti-government protestors showed up within the vicinity of the Jubilee House, the seat of government for the #OccupyJulorBiHouse demonstration in defiance of a police order.
The organizers had notified the Ghana Police Service of their planned demonstration on Nkrumah Memorial Day to call on “the President and members of the Economic Management Team to #FixTheCountry in light of alleged economic mismanagement and theft.
But on the eve of the event, the police secured an injunction from the court barring the protest from moving forth
A video on social media posted by activist Oliver Barker Vormawor showed the protestors in black and red seated in a bus.
“We don’t know where they are taking us,” he said. He noted that they were disappointed in the actions of the police.
Vormawor stated that the country had weaponised the police to suppress demonstrators adding “they have no right to arrest demonstrators in the country. This is not the democracy we signed up for. This is not a democracy.”
He called on legal practitioners to show up at the police headquarters to provide legal assistance to the arrested demonstrators, adding that the public and the media must support the demonstration.
“Police is your friend”
Police brutality #OccupyJulorbiHouse pic.twitter.com/8iU2KofVZh— #Fixthecountry (@Ghfixthecountry) September 21, 2023
Organizers remain defiant
The organisers claim that they had not been served the court documents and as such had the right to stage the demonstration.
But the police insist it had served the lawyers of the organisers and urged members of the public to avoid participating in an “unlawful” demonstration.
On Thursday, the demonstration came off but was short-lived.
Following the arrest, the police have maintained a heavy presence at the Jubilee House.
Scores of police personnel in crowd control vehicles and riot gear have lined up on the streets in front of the seat of government.
Source: Africafeeds.com
