Awura Adams Karim, a participant in the recent #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstration has criticized the Ghana Police Service over their handling of the protests.
Speaking in an interview on TV3, Karim expressed his disappointment with the Ghana Police Service, highlighting the challenging conditions faced by officers while asserting that their conditions of service were worse than those of the protesters they had illegally arrested.
He emphasized that some police officers had lost their lives in the line of duty due to a lack of necessary logistics to carry out their work effectively.
According to him, despite these hardships, he believed that it was the responsibility of the police to support the protesters.
"I am very disappointed in the Ghana police service, and I will tell you why. Whatever happens in this country, perhaps whatever happens, affects them. Perhaps they are even worse affected than us.”
He added, "Look, I have seen where they stay, I have seen the salaries that they take, I have seen the conditions that their families are in.
"If anyone should be supporting us, it should be the Ghana Police Service. If anyone should be marching us to the Jubilee House, it should be the Ghana Police Service, cautioning us, guiding us, and advising us."
Karim pointed out that the impending change in the country would affect every Ghanaian and that the police should be actively involved in supporting such movements.
“When the change happens, it going to affect them, it is not going to come to my house, it is not going to come to her house, it is going to affect every single Ghanaian...
"...a lot of the police have been killed recently because they do not have the logistics to work and these are the things that we are protesting about.”
Background
On the last day of the three-day #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests, protesters attempted to force their way through a police barricade deep into the night and march to the presidency.
This is despite the illegal arrests and police highhandedness that marred Day 1 when police arrested 49 protesters, who were detained for hours on allegations of unlawful assembly.
All of them were later released on bail.
Day 2 and 3 passed without any major incident as police barricaded the main road leading to the presidency, Jubilee House, even before the protesters began their march towards the place.
While Day 2 saw the blocking of one part of the 37-Accra Road, the final day saw the blocking of both sides which meant vehicular traffic was greatly constrained for the better part of the day.
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Awura Adams Karim