#FixTheCountry Campaigners to sue Ghana Police over assault on Female Convenors
The #FixTheCountry campaigners have hinted at instituting legal actions against the Ghana Police Service (GPS) for violently attacking some women convenors of the group who had gone to attend court proceedings on Friday involving the group and the GPS.
The group has specifically fingered the Accra Regional Police Commander in charge of Operations, ACP Kwesi Ofori, and his men who stomped on the toes of the stunned ladies and also snatched their mobile telephones in an attempt to prevent them from broadcasting the assault live on Facebook.
Upon the instruction of the trial judge Justice Ruby Aryeetey that the group should have representation in court when their case was called today June 4, 2021, about seven of the campaigners, mostly women, proceeded to the court but were immediately stopped at the entrance to the courtroom by the police who saw that the convenors were wearing #FixTheCountry T-shirts.
Whatsup News has seen videos of their encounter with the adamant police officers deployed, fully armed, to the Accra High Court premises.
When quizzed by the media, ACP Kwesi Ofori, claimed his officers’ action was to prevent disorder in the court premises, although the group was simply walking into the courtroom.
“My commanders indicated that this is a court premises. People should not come en masse and that individually, they can come into the court. The police is here to provide adequate security for the court building and all the other courts therein,” Kwesi Ofori told the media.
“So, coming en-masse with placards, flags and other paraphernalia may mar the beauty and ethics of the court. In view of this, my men on the ground decided, among other things [that] they [campaigners] could leave the flags and also limit that militancy and go into the court as individuals,” he explained.”
It is unclear how seven people could be described as invading the courtroom “en-masse”, as the group points out the incessant subversive tactics that the Police had unleashed on them in an attempt to prevent them from protesting socio-economic injustice in the country.
The Greater Accra Regional Police Headquarters had filed a suit on May 18, 2021, in the Accra High Court to put a restraining order on the now-popular youth movement’s plan to stage a street protest on May 9, 2021.
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The writ had been served on the group via a Whatsapp number that the Police and the A-G concludes must belong to the conveners of the youth group.
A statement issued by the # FixTheCountry movement a week ago recounts the curious: “Following the Whatsapp message, and despite the short notice, two of the accidental convenors appeared in Court today May 26, on behalf of FixTheCountry. At the hearing, the Attorney General’s representative admitted that they had failed to properly notify the accidental convenors of #FixTheCountry as required by law. Despite this, the Attorney General’s representative insisted that they be allowed to move the motion to obtain the injunction.”
The court however refused the request and ordered the Ghana Police Service and the Attorney General’s Department to properly follow the court processes to secure their intended injunction on the May 9, protest which has since passed. The hearing was scheduled for today, but has since been adjourned again.
It is unclear why the Police and the state are insisting on getting an injunction against the amorphous youth group from staging protests against the status quo, citing COVID-19 restrictions to reduce infections.
Yet, on Thursday, June 3, 2021, President Akufo Addo, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, several government officials and over 1000 mourners stormed the funeral of Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, aka “Sir John, the former CEO of the Forestry Commission and the former General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
At the funeral, several people were without the mandatory facemasks in such gatherings and they were converged in a closely-knit mass of people in what completely overrules the Police’s excuse for disallowing the #FixTheCountry protests.
The group has since hinted at filing a suit against the Executives and the Police Service that graced Sir John’s funeral.
Whatsup News can report that The FixTheCountry movement is giving the entire Executive and security agencies in Ghana sleepless nights as they fear the mass anger of the Ghanaian youth could trigger civil unrest that could be capitalised on by terrorists or military adventurers who may be nursing plans to seize power from the failed civilian authorities.
Insiders say this is one of the main reasons why the state apparatuses have been preventing the youth movement from staging their protests.
are bent on stopping any protest march by the FixTheCountry youth movement.
So far, the Police had squashed two protests scheduled by the group, but the youth have vowed to stages multiple protests in the coming days, using all means, including social media.
According to Oliver Baker Vormawor, Ghana is ready for a culture of sustained protests until the country is truly transformed by its political leadership.
Source: Whatsupnewsghana
