The demonstration sponsored primarily by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) against the Ghana/United States Military Partnership Agreement was held in Accra yesterday.
Although the organizers – Ghana First Patriotic Front – claimed it was a coalition of opposition political parties that staged the protest, almost all the participants belonged to the NDC.
Bizarrely, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, a serial demonstrator who once announced his retirement from demonstrations when the NDC was in office, came out of his so-called retirement to join the protestors.
Many observers wondered what might have motivated him to suddenly change his mind.
Earlier, Koku Anyidoho, who is a Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, revealed that they would use the protest to set the tone to remove President Akufo-Addo from office through a coup d’etat.
He declared on a private radio station Happy FM in Accra last Monday that he would lead a civilian movement to overthrow Nana Akufo-Addo’s government.
The statement has landed him in trouble, as he is currently in detention awaiting a court date.
He has been charged with treason.
The demonstration started from the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle through to Adabraka Farisco
The protestors moved towards the TUC Traffic Intersection and used the right turn to hit the High Street where they converged on the Hearts of Oak Park to listen to speeches from their leaders.
Chief Superintendent Kwasi Ofori in-charge of Accra Region of the Ghana Police Service said “we witnessed an incident-free demonstration, very orderly and we expressed our appreciation to the leadership of the demonstrators even in times of challenges as we proceeded. They also intervened and they were on our side to talk to some of the demonstrators, especially at Farisco when some wanted to go through the COCOBOD/UTC area.
The cooperation was good and we need to thank them all for their support.”
He said “the police will not object to any persons or groups who desire to hold demonstrations provided they will not lead to violence, provided they will not lead to disturbing public peace and security.”
He said “anyone that decides to do something apart from what the organizers decided will be handled as and when necessary.”
Former President John Mahama supported the demonstration on social media.
He posted,“I join in declaring #GhanaFirst as my compatriots and other democratic forces converge to demonstrate their opposition to the Ghana/US military agreement.”
Some opponents of the NDC have argued that the party held the demonstration to protest against the arrest of Koku Anyidoho and not the military deal.
A former Trade and Industry Minister, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, who intends to lead the NDC in the 2020 presidential election, denied the accusation.
He said in a post on Facebook that “the demonstration was announced long before Koku’s arrest. So the demo was and is not about Koku’s arrest but the general misgovernance of Ghana leading to the Military Agreement with the USA. Joining others to see to the welfare of Koku does not imply agreement with any statement.”
By William Yaw Owusu