For alleged illegal violations of the Public Order Act on September 21, 2023, at the #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstration organized by Democracy Hub, the Ghana Police detained 49 suspects.
At the protest, a sizable number of Ghanaians gathered at 37 truck stops and marched to the Jubilee House to voice their disapproval of a number of issues, including the high cost of living, corruption, and governance issues.
The police had earlier warned the public not to take part in the protest because they were taking steps to limit it and had declared the area where it would take place to be a security zone.
The 49 suspects who were apprehended near the Jubilee House and the 37 Military Hospital area were confirmed to have been arrested by the police in a statement released on September 21.
The arrests were made as a result of the organizers’ blatant disregard of a court order that forbade them from holding the anticipated demonstration.
“The 49 suspects, who are currently in custody assisting in the investigation, were arrested within the vicinity of the Jubilee House and the 37 Military Hospital area.
“We would like to state that the Police do not take delight in preventing any group from demonstrating as the Service has a track record of providing security for demonstrations in the past. The exception, in this case, is the Police disagreement with the organizers on the venue, the Jubilee House, being a security zone”
Suspects are currently being held in custody and assisting with the ongoing investigation, the letter continues.
See the complete statement below:
NEWS RELEASE:
POLICE ARREST 49 SUSPECTS FOR UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY AND VIOLATION OF PUBLIC ORDER ACT pic.twitter.com/KPROj6B9rr— Ghana Police Service (@GhPoliceService) September 21, 2023
In connection with this, the police have refuted earlier claims that they detained a BBC reporter and his cameraman during the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protest.
The police clarified the situation and denied reports that the BBC Reporter had been arrested in a statement.
The police declared that the journalist’s arrest had not actually occurred and that the report should be ignored.
“The attention of the Police has been drawn to an erroneous report by a section of the media that a BBC reporter and his cameraman have been arrested”
“The police will like to put on record that the report is false and should be disregarded”
