Captain Smart, a media celebrity and political activist, is concerned about the contents of a letter in which an organization to which he belongs is requesting permission to stage a three-day demonstration beginning June 4th.
The letter has sparked debate after it was revealed that the organization had told authorities that they would be engaging their own armed security officers to guard the marchers.
Captain Smart, one of the group's leaders, stated in an interview with 3FM on June 1 that he disagreed with the letter's contents to the degree that it supported violence, which he strongly opposed.
"Yes, we want the correct things to happen since things aren't right in this nation, but I don't favor violence and will never want to demonstrate with a blade in my hand; we conducted the first demonstration without even a stick... He remarked, "Whoever wrote the letter is ill."
He also bemoaned the fact that the letter presumably was written without his signature or that of any of the other three conveners, and he predicted that whomever submitted the letter will be detained by the police.
"...and if I am a convener and you wish to send a letter on behalf of all the conveners, politeness requires that you at least inform me of the letter's substance."
Even if he was merely inclined to assume the lawyer was behind it, he referred to fellow convener Oliver Barker-Vormawor when asked who must have written the letter.
"I'm tempted to assume that the stated letter was written by [Oliver Marker-Vormawor]... I'm tempted to assume he's the one who penned the letter. You can't reach him right now, but I'm inclined to assume he's the one who sent the letter.
"And I believe that this is criminal, that it is against the supreme interests of our country, that it does not reflect the youth's desire for fair play and responsibility on behalf of the elderly," she said.
Background to the planned demonstration on June 4th
Protest organizers wrote to the Ghana Police Service, requesting permission to host a three-day protest beginning June 4th.
Journalists Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah and Captain Godsbrain Smart, one Benjamin Darko, and lawyer and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor are among the organizers.
During the march, the demonstrators would use the services of armed private security officers, according to the letter.
They have announced plans to protest both the police headquarters and the state broadcaster's offices, where they hope to be able to convey their concerns on LIVE television.
The demonstration, on the other hand, was classified by the police as being in violation of the Public Order Act.
The "nature and character" of the protest as envisaged was contradictory with the Public Order Act, according to a press statement issued by Chief Inspector Bright Kwabena Danso, Regional Public Affairs Unit, Ashanti Region, on June 1, 2022.
"As a result, we are unable to provide protection for a protest that is in flagrant violation of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 49) and has the potential to disrupt public order and safety," the statement said.
"In the interest of public safety and security, the Police are putting in place all necessary precautions to guarantee that unauthorised people do not march the streets with weapons," the statement said.
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