Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Kweku Baako
Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Kweku Baako, has refuted claims by the organizers of the Arise Ghana demonstration that the Police pelted stones at the demonstrators during their clash on Tuesday, June 28, 2022.
Tuesday's demonstration ended with the protesters and Police officers taking cover for their lives as the protesters threw stones and other objects at the Police; the Police also responded by firing tear gas and spraying them with water cannons.
Some of the officers and the protesters sustained injuries.
According to a Police statement following the incident, 29 demonstrators have been arrested "for their participation in violent attacks on the Police and some members of the public including school children during the Arise Ghana demonstration in Accra...Also, the organizers of the demonstration will be arrested and put before court for the attacks and damage to public property, in line with the provisions of Section 3 of the Public Order Act (Act 491)".
Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show Wednesday morning, Kweku Baako found the Arise Ghana organizers' allegations unconvincing.
He wondered how any person would believe the Police came to the demonstration grounds with stones.
"Nobody is going to convince me that the Police came with loads of stones as part of their arsenal to say it is part of the riot control...It's obvious that we can do the distinction. If someone was a victim of a rubber bullet, it's safe to say that this was coming from the Police. It may have been done on orders or to cure certain mischief, but it is safe to say that rubber bullets, tear gas, those things emanated from the side of the Police. Stones, burning tyres, gallons of fuel [petrol], it's also safe to say it came from the protesters. It may not even have been ordered by their leaders," he stated.