A member of the Democracy Hub legal team, Prince Ganaku, has alleged that the Ghana Police Service made unlawful arrests of more than 46 protesters during a three-day demonstration.
This protest was organized to express discontent with the government’s management of the economic crisis and the issue of illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey.
Ganaku also stated that the police have not provided a complete list of those arrested, forcing members of the group to search the streets of Accra for the missing protesters. In an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News, he claimed that the detained individuals are being held in various cells across the country, are being denied legal representation, and are scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, September 23.
“In our attempt to get them bail, we engaged with the police and they declined to give us the list of people who have been arrested. We were told, and to quote the police, ‘to go and roam the streets of Accra and if we find them, fine. If we don’t find them, fine.”
“We heard that there was an order from above that they should not allow those that they arrested to get access to legal representation and so they have taken them to different locations and the information we are getting is that they will detain them and arraign them for court tomorrow. All these are deliberate measures taken to punish the people.”
“We only know what the police told us. We know where certain people are but we don’t have a firm number as to the total number of people arrested,” Prince Ganaku added.