Ellen Ama Daaku, a member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team has tweeted a controversial take relative to the September 21 #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstration.
Daaku, in a tweet sighted by GhanaWeb suggested that there was no need to blame the government for the excesses of the police in handling protesters but that the police should be held accountable for their actions.
She described the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) as a Public Relations expert, who is touted as the best police chief ever.
"He go show you pepper," her tweet read with four laughing emojis concluding the tweet with a security sectir terminology: "Roger that....."
Her full tweet read: "The Ghana Police Service is an Independent Institution of State led by the most Credible Public Relations Expert as it's Head. Publicly acclaimed as the Best IGP of all time by these Same people........ He go show you pepper ???????????????? Roger that......."
It triggered a deluge of attacks on her with the majority of commenters stating that she was clearly showing insensitivity to the plight of persons illegally detained by the police during Day 1 of the three-day protest.
Background: The #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests:
On Day 1 (September 21) of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests by the Democracy Hub, a group of young activists; police illegally rounded up 49 protesters who were marching to demand action on prevailing economic crisis and corruption.
The illegal arrests, especially how they were conducted by the police triggered harsh criticism of impeding the constitutional right to protest and deploying highhandedness on the part of police.
Police sent the detainees to the regional headquarters before splitting them up to about eight police stations dotted across the capital, even as colleague protesters and lawyers worked to secure bail for the illegally detained persons.
In this process, other journalists and protesters who massed up especially at the Accra Regional Command encountered some amount of police violence including shoving, forced detention, seizure of phone and in the case of other physical assault.
In their first of two statements on the day, police said the illegal arrests were justified because protesters were defying a court injunction served on them, which process they denied had been properly served.
The second statement addressed the purported arrest of a BBC journalist and his cameraman, which reportage they dismissed as untrue.
By the close of day, almost all illegally detained protesters per GhanaWeb checks had been released from illegal detention on bail, it remains to be seen whether Day Two of the three-day protest targeting the seat of government, the Jubilee House, will come off today (September 22, 2023).
SARA
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