Felicity Nelson, one of the Democracy Hub protestors who was arrested during the September 21 to 23 anti-galamsey protests has urged the Ghanaian youth not to allow any politician to deceive them.
She has asked them to use their conscience and look at their living standards to choose leadership as the December 07 election beckons.
Narrating her ordeal during the arrests and her 17 days in custody on Onua TV’s morning show, Maakye, Monday, October 14, 2024, she urged the youth not to sell their votes for fried rice or t-shirts.
Miss Nelson condemned the actions of the police saying her only crime on the day was doing a live streaming of the ongoing demonstration when the police seized her phone and got her arrested.
According to her, the over 2000 police officers who were deployed on the grounds to arrest innocent protestors could have been sent to the galamsey sites to stop the illegal miners.
She asserted that it is because the government knows it is doing something wrong, it has decided to silence the youth from talking by incarcerating them for no cause.
“I want to urge the youth that, don’t sell your votes for fried rice, don’t sell your votes for t-shirts. Look at your living conditions to vote. Let us all be active and speak out from our corner. If all the young people in even Accra had gone to demonstrate, they couldn’t have arrested us.
“They know what we are saying is the truth and that’s why they arrested us. Because if you jail me for 17 days, it means the things you are doing are wrong and what I’m saying is right. You discharge 2,000 police officers to demonstration grounds to arrest people whilst you could have sent them to the galamsey sites.
“Use your voice, let your voice be hard. Let’s use our education to be useful to the nation. Let us be less selfish and more selfless. We are not going to stop talking,” she told host, Captain Smart in Twi.
Miss Nelson further admonished the youth to continue speaking until the charges against them have been dropped. She stated that although they have been granted bail, their charges have not been dropped and are still being prosecuted in court.
“The charges have not been dropped so the fight is not over. Everybody who was arrested is still going to court so we should use our voices to call them to drop the charges,” she charged.
‘I will send the gods to Parliament to curb corruption, embezzlement’ – Kwaku Bonsam
