Kwakye's comments were prompted by the recent events surrounding the illegal arrest and mistreatment of protesters from Democracy Hub and concerned citizens during a peaceful demonstration dubbed #OccupyJulorbiHouse.
In a series of tweets, Kwakye expressed his concerns and frustration over the treatment of demonstrators by the Ghana Police Service:
"Arresting a protester on live television as he grants an interview is a new low in crude abuse of power. And all of this is aimed at shielding a useless government like this one from public protest."
He continued, "The Ghana Police Service must come off this nonsense of constantly harassing protestors. Akufo-Addo and Bawumia's useless governance is sufficient basis for daily protests. Even the White House and 10 Downing Street are places of protests. Jubilee House cannot be off limits."
He argued that peaceful protests are an essential means for citizens to voice their grievances and concerns in a democratic society and that excessive police action to suppress such protests is unwarranted.
"Another day of infamy for Akufo-Addo, his image as a terrible, high-handed leader and the very worst in our history reinforced with this shameful attack on and arrest of peaceful demonstrators."
Background
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 the 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 into 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 phones, and in the case of other physical assaults.
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 the 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).
AM/SARA
Click here to start the nomination process for the 2023 GhanaWeb Excellence Awards
Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.
You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV:
Felix Kwakye Ofosu