President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that the Executive was not involved in the recent arrests of Ghanaian protesters. He said that the arrests and subsequent arraignment were due to breaches of the rule of law and emphasized that that should not be misinterpreted as an effort to suppress dissent. “People misconduct themselves, and they are brought before the court. It is for the court to deal with them. This has nothing to do with the Executive,” he stated in an interview with the international media network, ‘France 24’.
The President was emphatic that the Presidency was not responsible for arresting and jailing individuals, explaining that the actions of some of the protesters were what led them into trouble with the police and the courts.
“The courts in Ghana are independent institutions, and they have been all through this period of the Fourth Republic,” he emphasized. I am not responsible for jailing people in Ghana. The courts in Ghana are independent institutions.... - President @NAkufoAddo on the recent protest pic.twitter.com/8V6lzIaG7w
The Ghana Police Service recently announced the arrest of 42 demonstrators from the Democracy Hub protest, which turned violent as some participants went on a rampage. The development followed multiple altercations between law enforcement and the protesters, who the police claimed had gathered unlawfully. The demonstrators stated that they were protesting economic mismanagement and the country's rampant illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).
Of those arrested, 39 individuals charged with lawlessness at the 37 Intersection in Accra have been in custody for the next two weeks. Their charges include conspiracy to commit a crime, unlawful assembly, causing unlawful damage, and offensive conduct due to a breach of the peace. Bail requests for these individuals were denied when they were arraigned.
President Akufo-Addo stated that Ghana’s laws do not prohibit protests or the expression of opinions, affirming that he was not opposed to demonstrations. “How can a President whose political career was aided by leading protests have problems with protests,” he quizzed. “Nothing is done in Ghana to prevent people from airing their views on anything,” he stated.
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