The Minority caucus in parliament has submitted an affidavit in opposition to the Greater Accra Regional Police Command’s injunction application regarding their planned protest against the Bank of Ghana Governor and his deputies. Their legal representatives filed this affidavit on Friday, September 1, at the Accra High Court’s registry.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the Greater Accra Regional Police Command sought an injunction against the proposed protest routes chosen by the Minority. The NDC MPs intend to march on Tuesday, September 5, from Makola, passing through Rawlings Park and Opera Square, ultimately reaching the frontage of the Bank of Ghana. The purpose of the march is to call for the resignation of the Bank of Ghana Governor and his deputies due to the central bank’s reported GH¢60.8 billion losses in 2022.
The police argued that the chosen route often experiences overcrowding with both human and vehicular traffic, potentially endangering public order, public safety, and essential services. They proposed an alternative route from Parliament House through the Osu Cemetery Traffic Light to Independence Square, which the Minority rejected.
The injunction, scheduled for a hearing on September 4, aims to prevent the Minority from using their preferred route. Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, criticized the police’s actions, describing it as a “breach of trust” and expressing disappointment in their conduct.
He stated, “We received a letter on Wednesday from the Ghana Police Service accompanied by a bailiff from the Accra High Court who served a notice or motion for an order to prohibit our Bank of Ghana protest. We must say that we are very disappointed with this development, which is an attempt to disrupt the protest intended to hold the Governor and his deputies accountable for their mismanagement of the bank, resulting in an unprecedented loss of GH¢60.8 billion, impacting the economy and pushing nearly one million Ghanaians into poverty.”
He continued, “We assure the people of Ghana that, as representatives, we will uphold the public interest in line with our constitutionally guaranteed right to publicly protest, and nothing will deter us from this protest.”
Speaking in an interview in Accra, Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga insisted that their demonstration posed no security threat to the public. He added that the police had demonstrated bad faith throughout their planning for the protest, despite there being no counter-demonstration challenges voiced by any Ghanaian citizen.
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