Professor Kobby Mensah, a Political Marketing strategist, has rejected the assertion that some demonstrations have political character whilst others do not.
He says every demonstration, irrespective of the organisers or the motive, has a political character. He was speaking on the recent protest embarked by Democracy Hub which got over 50 persons arrested.
Urging Ghanaians to actively participate in demonstrations, he said the best way people can communicate to political actors, especially in Ghana, is through joining protests.
Speaking in Twi, Prof. Mensah said “protests are the most effective tool of communication in the political landscape.”
During a one-on-one with Captain Smart Wednesday, October 02, 2024, Prof. the University of Ghana lecturer said demonstrations used by protestors are the most effective means to make their voices heard in any political dispensation.
According to him, every demonstration has a political character since they are geared towards leadership’s failure to address a particular issue.
The Professor indicated that there has never been an instance where people have hit the streets after leadership has heeded to their demands.
According to him, no regime has made any political stride with dialogue, citing several revolutions that changed various political landscapes globally.
He asserts demonstrations exist as a last resort after persuasion has failed, adding that it is the language politicians hear, hence, the reason people resort to it as a final option.
“There is nothing as important as protest in terms of political participation. You can ask anyone who is a political historian, there has never been any form of communication as effective as protests in politics. That is what the politicians hear. It is also the most effective way to participate in politics. Sometimes you hear people saying ‘the demo is political so I won’t join. I would have joined if it had no political character’. But the truth is that every protest is political. If you think a protest is a fashion or entertainment, forget about it. It is when the leaders are refusing to listen to the people that they resort to protest as a last resort,” he stated.
He also added his voice to the calls for the release of the protestors arrested during the Democracy Hub demonstration in Accra.
The three-day event scheduled between September 21 to 23, 2024, became a fiasco as protestors clashed with police resulting in the arrest of 53 of them.
The suspects were detained, with two of them kept in custody over 48 hours before being arraigned. Meanwhile, they were detained for two more weeks by an Accra High court, a ruling many have been enraged about.
He wants the State to release them saying their protest was a means of communicating their grievances to the government.
