By Augustine Ehikioya
Before embarking on its planned demonstration in Accra, the Ghana Police Service on Sunday warned the demonstrators, Arise Ghana, to wait for court verdict on the issue.
The Police had approached the court when the two sides could not agree on the timing of the demonstration and the picketing area.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Chief Superintendent of Police, Grace Ansah-Akrofi of the Public Affairs, and made available to Security Watch Africa (SWA), the Police also expressed its readiness to protect the demonstrators and members of the public.
It reads “A group calling itself Arise Ghana, notified the Police of its intention to hold a demonstration in Accra for two continuous days and for its members to also picket in front of the Jubilee House during the night.
“The Police invited the organisers to a meeting to discuss the demonstration.
“Following a series of meetings, Arise Ghana informed the Police in a letter dated June 8, 2022, that instead of two continuous days, the demonstration will start on the first day at 3 pm and end at 10 pm and resume the next day. The Police, in a letter dated June 13, 2022, responded and urged that in order to adequately ensure the safety of demonstrators and other members of the public, the demonstration should not travel into the night.”
The statement added “Therefore, in the interest of public order and safety, we entreated the organisers to reconsider their time frame and start the demonstration early in the day and end before night falls.
“On June 22, 2022, the Police received a verbal response from the organisers to the effect that they are unable to change the time of the demonstration.”
Explaining why it approached the court, the Police said “Due to the lack of agreement between the Police and the organisers on the time for the demonstration and location for their planned picketing, the Police have had no option but to submit the process to the court for a determination.
“This was duly communicated to Arise Ghana in a letter on June 22, 2022.”
The statement disclosed that the case already filed at the court is scheduled for hearing on today, Monday June 27, 2022.
“We would like to assure the organisers in particular and the public in general of our readiness to provide security for the demonstration once the matters are determined by the court,” it stated.