Richard Ahiagbah condemns arrest of Nkrumah Day demonstrators

The Director of Communication of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah has condemned the arrest of some 50 Ghanaians who have scheduled to demonstrate on the 21st of September holiday set aside to commemorate the birth of one of Ghana's founders - Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. 

The police had initiated a process to secure an injunction against the demonstration yet, the demonstrators under the leadership of a group calling itself Democracy Hub have denied being served with a court order against the planned demonstration. 

On Thursday [September 21, 2023] morning, hundreds of protesters converged at the 37 Trotro Station in Accra in a bid to march to the Jubilee House to demand a reduction in the cost of living, an end to corruption, and accountable governance. 

The police however arrested about 50 of the demonstrators and some of its leaders including the #FixTheCountry movement leader Oliver Barkar Vormawor in what has widely been described as an effort to impede the rights of the group to demonstrate. 

Lawyer for the demonstrators, Prince Ganaku told the media that his clients had no communication of the said injunction and hence should not be arrested for embarking on an exercise they had given police notice of a  month prior. 

The NPP's Communications Director, Richard Ahiagbah in an X [Twitter] post asked why there seems to be an attempt to foil a peaceful demonstration.  "There have been several peaceful demonstrations under President Akufo-Addo--the arise Ghana demo, the Kume Preko Demo, and the others. Why now?" he quizzed.

He explained that "The ability of the people to demonstrate is an inherent democratic right. Therefore, the decision to stand in the way of citizens' exercise of this fundamental right is unacceptable. I don't agree with the derogatory caption of the Presidency by the organizers of the demonstration, but impeding their right to peaceful assembly is an affront to democracy--plain and simple."

Some journalists including a BBC reporter and cameraman were also manhandled and arrested in the heat of the moment in what is being described as a highhandedness of the police. 

Mr. Ahiagbah further charged the leadership to intervene and put an end to the "poor development" describing the situation as negative publicity for the country on a day set aside to commemorate the birth of the country's first president. 

"The leadership of the Ghana Police Service must intervene to stop this poor development. This is not the publicity we need on a day such as this...Allow!"