A former ranking member on Parliament’s Constitution and Legal Affairs Committee has said that the Police will be shirking their responsibility if they fail to provide protection for protestors seeking to picket the seat of government on Thursday.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, Mr Inusah Fuseini explained that the police have not complied with all the procedural requirements before heading to court to attempt to block the demonstration. The police therefore had no basis to go to court.
“The right to go to court under Section 6 (of the Public Order has three conditions – there must be a refusal to change the route or a refusal to comply within 48 hours that invokes the rights of the police to go to court … the police cannot just get up and go to court,” he said.
Inusah Fuseini called on the police administration to critically look at the Public Order Act, Act 936 section 1 – subsections 1 to 7 on the matter to settle the impasse between them and the demonstrators.
“My understanding is that the police have not notified the demonstrators to either hold or postpone or change the route of their demonstration and neither have the demonstrators written back under section 5 to refuse to comply and so section 6 which invokes the jurisdiction of the court to step in has not even materialised.
“So the police will be shirking their responsibility if they fail to provide protection to the demonstrators tomorrow- Thursday because there are procedural requirements…,” he said.
His comments follow the Ghana Police Service’s claim that it had successfully served organisers (Democracy Hub) in connection with their planned protest to picket the Jubilee House from Thursday, September 21, to Saturday, September 23, 2023.
The demonstration, according to the Accra-based civil society organisation, Democracy Hub, is to demand the President and members of the Economic Management Team to #FixTheCountry in the light of the level of economic mismanagement and theft that has engulfed the government from the highest levels. It was scheduled to begin on Nkrumah’s Memorial Day.
The picketing will also give citizens a chance to voice their opposition to the proposed military intervention in Niger and any other decisions regarding government policy.
Meanwhile, Democracy Hub says they have not been served any court process by the Police, contrary to suggestions by the Service.
The group said the Police had throughout their engagement kept up a ruse, “making us believe that they will respect the law and fulfill their obligations under the Public Order Act.”
“We are appalled by the desperate and likely partisan attempts by the Police to disrupt peaceful and democratic mobilisation for our upcoming Occupy Julorbi House picket,” it stated.
The group has further urged the public to disregard the police statement “which is riddled with misinformation” as the protest will take place as scheduled.
“We invite the general public to assemble at the 37 Trotro Station at 6:30 am tomorrow for onward march to the Jubilee House,” it reiterated.
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