CHRI Africa Press Statement on Police Service Detaining and Brutalizing Peaceful Protesters in Accra

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Africa Office is deeply concerned by the Ghana Police Service’s recent detention of peaceful protesters. We are informed that in the early hours of Thursday, 21 September 2023, officers from the Ghana Police Service were stationed and lined up at bus stops and convening areas from the 37 Bus stop to the Flagstaff House picking up anybody who was wearing a red or black attire. This was done to prevent civilians from embarking
on a peaceful protest that they had informed the police about over a month ago. Police officers have been captured on camera picking up and manhandling civilians for just being within the vicinity of the protests. Media personnel were not left out and some of them were roughed up and detained.

This is a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression and assembly, which is enshrined in the Constitution of Ghana and international human rights law. The right to freedom of expression and assembly is essential for any democracy. It allows citizens to voice their concerns and participate in the democratic process. When the police arrest peaceful protesters, they are sending a message that the Government is afraid of dissent. The actions of the Ghana Police Service are in
bad taste and are rife with suspicion. After the detention of innocent citizens, the detainees were dispersed into several police stations and had their phones confiscated. Some lawyers convened and spread out to the different police stations to secure bail for the detainees and to ensure that their rights were not further violated. However, the lawyers were not allowed to engage with the detainees, some were beaten up and detained as well. It is alleged that the police officers had
received orders to not grant any of the protesters bail and the detainees were kept behind bars until 8:00pm that night.

In recent years, there have been a number of reports of the Ghana Police Service using excessive force against peaceful protesters. There is a continuing trend of protesters involving the police in their demonstration plans and informing them of the routes ahead of time, only for the police to issue press statements the day before the protest, seeking to prevent the protests and then applying to court for an order of injunction. When this is done, they use these steps as grounds to violate the rights of civilians by arresting them, shooting at them with rubber bullets, spraying them with hot water from water cannons, etc. This is the exact tactic deployed in this event and it is an obvious abuse of the court process to gag citizens and stifle peaceful protests.

The right to freedom of expression and assembly is enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of Ghana. This right includes the freedom to hold and express opinions and to assemble and demonstrate freely. The Constitution also states that the police shall not interfere with the exercise of this right unless it is necessary to do so in the interests of national security, public safety, public order, public morality, or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The Public Order Act
of Ghana, 1994 (Act 491) regulates public assemblies and demonstrations. The Act requires organizers of public assemblies to notify the police in advance. The Supreme Court has held that the police cannot refuse permission to hold a public assembly because citizens do not need the permission from the police to protest, they merely need to inform them of the routes and liaise with them on matters of security and the like. There is no law in Ghana that gives the police the
power to arrest peaceful protesters. The police can only arrest protesters if they are engaging in violence or other illegal activity.

The right to freedom of expression and assembly is also enshrined in international human rights law. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Article 21 guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and association.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Ghana is a party to, also guarantees the right to freedom of expression and assembly. Article 19 of the Covenant states that everyone shall have the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. Article 21 of the Covenant states that the right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), or for the protection of health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others.

The Ghana Police Service’s recent arrest of peaceful protesters is a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression and assembly. The detention of the peaceful protesters was unlawful, as they were not told why they were being arrested and they were prevented from reaching out to friends and family during the detention. This flies in the face of Ghana’s much-touted democratic credentials. We wish to state categorically that the Ghana Police Service is a State actor and its actions are attributable to the Republic as a whole and the Government in particular. Stifling the people’s right to protest sets a very dangerous precedent and casts in bad light, the legacy of the President who shot to fame by virtue of his involvement in several peaceful protests.

As the protests continue, the CHRI Africa Office calls on the Ghana Police Service to respect the rights of Ghanaians and to ensure that they exercise their powers in a manner that is consistent with human rights law. We further call on all the arms of Government to prioritize the rights of Ghanaians and take active steps to ensure that Ghanaians are allowed to freely express and assemble. We conclude by restating that the arrests were unlawful and to restore the faith of Ghanaians in the police and government as a whole, all those involved in brutalizing, detaining and manhandling citizens, whether protesters or non-protesters, lawyers, journalists etc. should be brought to book.

Issued by: The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Africa Office
Phone: 0302-971170/0262-508889

Press Release
22 September 2023