The Democracy Hub protestors who were arrested by the police during their demonstration would have been beaten “black and blue” if not for the police’s improvement in handling protestors.
A communications team member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ellen Ama Daaku, after describing the protestors as “bunch of hooligans”, indicated that their actions deserved the arrest from the police.
According to her, although every citizen has the right to demonstrate, behaving as a hooligan has consequences according to the constitution, and the arrests effected by the police was in line with the law.
She said there have been instances where police subjected people to severe beatings for demonstrating for their rights, and the democracy hub protestors’ misbehaviour would have warranted similar treatments if not for the professionalism of the police.
Speaking on the BigIssue on TV3’s NewDay Thursday, September 26, 2024, she said “those young people who went, the 50 or so of them who went out to do that, I still stand on it that they behaved as hooligans and the police has every right to arrest them.”
“The police are improving on how they manage demonstrations because we’ve had instances in this country when this situation, you would have been beaten black and blue. This one they didn’t touch them. They just arrested them and they are going through the processes.
“So, I still stand by it, they behaved as hooligans and when you decide to behave as a hooligan, the police will deal with you, that’s what our law says.”
Her comments follow the arrest of some protestors who said the government needed to sit up and stop galamsey to avert the destruction of water bodies and forest reserves.
Government has abandoned the fight against galamsey leaving citizens to stage a protest to draw its attention to the menace which has caused widespread environmental destruction in the country.
Civil advocacy group Democracy Hub, organised a three-day protest against the government which escalated into a clash with the police leading to the arrest of protestors, including a minor, 10-year-old, amid growing unrest over illegal mining and economic hardship.
Many have criticised the police for the manner with which they handled the protestors, with private legal practitioner, Martin Luther Kpebu, calling for the resignation of the IGP.
I don’t think our water bodies have gotten murkier – NPP’s Ellen Ama Daaku on galamsey
