Richard Ahiagbah, Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has affirmed that both President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the ruling party support the Democracy Hub protest addressing the harmful effects of illegal small-scale mining (Galamsey) on the environment.
He noted that since 2017, President Akufo-Addo has taken significant steps to protect the nation’s water bodies.
Ahiagbah emphasized that the right to protest is fundamental in a democracy and a crucial tool for holding governments accountable.
According to him, however, the “execution of the protest suffered the infiltration of some radical elements whose participation detracted from the democratic essence of the protest and now has become a matter requiring the intervention of the police and the courts.”
To that, he said, the arrest and prosecution of some of the members of the Democracy Hub for the alleged violation of the law was to maintain law and order by the Police.
Mr Ahiagbah indicated that the demonstration degenerated into violent obstruction on the roads, destruction of public and private properties, and causing panic among road users.
The police therefore had a duty under the circumstances to maintain peace and order by fishing out the disruptive elements in the ranks of the protesters.
“They may have arrested an innocent spectator or peaceful protesters. When that is established, the police or the court must act quickly to free such people,” he said on his X platform.
The state preferred 8 counts of offences including offensive conduct to the breach of peace and stealing from some of the protesters.
An Accra Circuit Court remanded leading members of Democracy Hub, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Felicity Nelson and 11 others into Police custody for two weeks.
Lawyers of the protesters had applied for bail after they pleaded not guilty. Aside from Oliver Barker Vormawor who was charged with 8 counts of offences including, offensive conduct to the breach of peace and stealing, the remaining 12 were charged with 6 offences.
The Judge handling the matter, Kwabena Obiri Yeboah ordered the Police to cater for the feeding of the protesters after reports that they had been starved for about 3 days.
After missing his first arraignment on day 1 due to health reasons, Oliver Barker-Vormawor was escorted to the circuit court limping and frail.
Fanny Otoo was however unable to make it to the cour Oliver’s lawyer, Dr Justice Srem Sai argued in court that the Police had neglected his client and denied him prompt medical care until he collapsed while in custody.
In the post on his X page, Mr Ahiagbah said “The right of citizens to protest in a democracy is inviolable and absolute. It’s a tool at our disposal to hold governments accountable. The Democracy Hub’s protest about the adverse impact of Galamsey on the environment enjoys the support of H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP, who have made every effort since 2017 to preserve our water bodies.
“However, the execution of the protest suffered the infiltration of some radical elements whose participation detracted from the democratic essence of the protest and now has become a matter requiring the intervention of the police and the courts. Somehow, the government is being blamed because critics and reporters, including @larryMadowo of CNN, assume that the protest was as peaceful as expected. The truth is that the demonstration degenerated into violent obstruction on the roads, destruction of public and private properties, and causing panic among road users.
“The police had a duty under the circumstances to maintain peace and order by fishing out the disruptive elements in the ranks of the protesters. They may have arrested an innocent spectator or peaceful protesters. When that is established, the police or the court must act quickly to free such people. Peaceful protests under H.E. Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia Mahamadu were without arrests or brutalities. For instance, the September 17th demonstration by the NDC against the Electoral Commission in Accra saw zero arrests or brutalities because it was peaceful. In our quest to protect and defend the rights of protesters, we must be careful not to overlook their excesses lest we undermine the capacity of law enforcement to secure public peace and order.
“To reiterate, I support the right of citizens to protest, but I also support the position that ‘we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence’ (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.). Let’s keep it peaceful to deepen democracy and avoid entanglements with the law. It’s possible.”