Socialite, Afia Odo and about 14 members of #Fixthecountry campaigners, were yesterday arrested after they had gathered in front of the Law Courts Complex in Accra.
The suspects had gathered there waiting for the decision of an Accra High Court on an application by the police seeking to restrain them from demonstrating.
Some of them had carried placards and banners with the inscription ‘Fix the country’, ‘Cut down on government expenditure’, ‘If not now, when’, and ‘Fix waste management now’, among others.
Some of the campaigners had gathered outside the courtroom while the AG and their lawyers were making their legal submissions before the court.
The court, after listening to the legal arguments, stood the case down until 1:30pm to give its ruling.
Some of the campaigners then came out of the courtroom to join their colleagues who had pitched camp at the entrance of the court and were taking pictures, while others were heard saying “We will protest”.
It was at this point that police officers from the Accra Regional Command came and made the arrest.
Meanwhile, an Accra High Court has told a group of individuals seeking to embark on a demonstration against what they call ‘a cry against the state of the country’ to follow laid down procedures for any future protest.
This was after the court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, had dismissed an application filed by the Attorney General to restrict the group from demonstrating.
The court, in its ruling, held that the AG’s application was filed in respect of the group’s intent to protest on May 19, 2021, a date that had elapsed hence rendering the application moot.
The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, yesterday moved a motion urging the court to prohibit the group from going ahead with its protest.
Mr. Dame, in his argument cited public safety, public security and public health as reasons for the motion.
He said the declared purpose for the demonstration was neither pressing nor urgent because, on the face of the notice, the group was “complaining of promises allegedly broken by successive governments since the independence of Ghana. It was definitely not on account of a situation which has immediately arisen, deserving of an immediate attention.”
He said Executive Instrument (EI) 157 extended the restrictions stipulated in EI 37 which restricted large political gatherings so there was legal basis for the restraint of a demonstration.
Responding to the point raised by lawyers for the protesters that the application was moot, the AG argued that it was “unfounded because they actually go to a very lengthy extent in their affidavit to show why they should be allowed to demonstrate. That lengthy justification to demonstrate defeats the contention that the application is moot.”
Mr. Dame continued that the argument by the respondents that the state itself has been condoning political activities was not a sufficient answer to this application because they failed to show any evidence of such claim.
“Quite clearly, the restriction is legitimate. We are still in the teeth of Covid-19. Restrictions even in this honourable court speak to that. A march on the street is not the only means of expression. The respondents from their own showing have been expressing themselves and government has been responding to them.
Opposition
The application was opposed by Tata Kosi Foliba, counsel for some of the respondents, who argued that the application clearly sought to prohibit an event scheduled to take place on May 9, 2021, on a date and location that has long elapsed.
“If this instant application is neither in contemplation of the purported demonstration planned after the now quashed interim order for injunction, then that date which would be 19 May, 2021 would also have long elapsed. On the other hand, if by some wild imagination this application is in respect of an event yet to be planned on a date yet to be determined, and at a place yet to be determined, then this application is premature, has no merit and not within the contemplation of Act 491,” he argued.
On the issue of the AG relying on Covid-19 as ground for the restriction, Mr. Foliba contended that “even if we are to rely on the said exhibit, the respondents, on their part, have outlined in detail and clearly measures taken and to be taken with regards to social distancing, wearing of face masks and even Covid-19 prevention protocols that were not stated in the said exhibit.”
The court, in its ruling, held the application was moot because the date for the intended protest had passed but added that, the protesters must follow laid down processes in accordance with law for any future protests.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak