President Akufo-Addo has said the Executive arm of the government has no influence in the recent arrest and detention of some Democracy Hub protesters.
President Akufo-Addo believes that the recent arrest and detention of the protesters rather stems from their behaviour during the protest.
He explained that as a political leader who has embarked on several protests in the past, he has no problem with citizens protesting about an issue of concern.
“How can a president who himself, his political career was aided by leading protests have problems with protest, I don’t have problems with protests,” President Akufo-Addo told France 24 in a recent interview.
According to him, the government is not stifling citizens’ rights through any means.
The President further elaborated that the courts in Ghana are “independent” of their mandates with no influence from the Executive.
“The courts in Ghana are independent institutions and they have been all through this fourth republic.
“People misconduct themselves and they are brought before the court, it is for the court to deal with them…it has nothing to do with the Executive.
“Their behaviour is what lands them in problems with the police and the court, it is not the protest,” he added.
The protesters who were arrested during their second day of demonstration [September 22] against galamsey have been detained and remanded into prison and police custody.
They have been scheduled to reappear in court on October 8.
They were charged with offences such as conspiracy to commit crime, unlawful assembly, causing unlawful damage, offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace, assault on public officer and defacement of public notice.
The protesters have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In the past weeks, Ghanaians have embarked on different protests to demand immediate action from the Government to end illegal mining in the country.
The rising galamsey menace has already led to the pollution of water bodies in the country causing citizens to rise against the activity before all hopes of salvaging the situation is lost.
From Thursday, October 3 to Saturday, October 5, the Coalition of Citizens Against Galamsey also embarked on a three-day protest against galamsey and demanded the release of the detainees.
They petitioned the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on the issue.