We’ll hit the streets in 2 weeks if we don’t see same force applied to fight galamsey – Democracy Hub
A convener of the pressure group, Democracy Hub, has served notice that members of the group will pour onto the streets in two weeks if the State fails to crackdown on illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, across the country.
According to him, the police brutality meted out to them during last week’s three-day demonstration against galamsey will not deter them from employing legitimate means to get the government to act and stop the menace.
Thirty-nine people who were part of the street protest and were arrested by the police for unlawful acts have been remanded into custody by the Accra Circuit Court.
The arrests stem from a three-day protest held at the 37 Roundabout in Accra, where demonstrators clashed with the Ghana Police Service.
The protest, which voiced concerns over illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) and economic mismanagement, has led to charges of unlawful assembly and other offenses against the demonstrators.
Ten protesters were the first to be remanded after appearing in court, charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, specifically unlawful assembly.
All ten pleaded not guilty and were remanded into police custody, with their case adjourned to October 8, 2024.
A second group of nine protesters, also charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, unlawful assembly, causing unlawful damage, and offensive conduct, pleaded not guilty.
They were also remanded and will reappear in court on October 8.
A third batch of 11 protesters were remanded into prison custody, with their case similarly adjourned to October 8. Meanwhile, a separate group of nine individuals in a different courtroom were also remanded into police custody with their case set for October 11.
But in an interview with the host of the New York-based Adinkra Radio Morning Show, Daakyehene Ofosu Agyemang, the convener of the Democracy Hub group, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the group will push further until the state acts to fight galamsey.
“These arrests will not cow us into submission; they cannot scare us from hitting the streets to demonstrate over what we deem wrong in this country. We are giving them two weeks, if we don’t see the same force applied on us being applied at galamsey sites to stop the menace, we will return to the streets. We know our laws don’t work but we will demonstrate again. They should do whatever they want to us when we hit the streets, if they kill us, then we will not stay in Ghana anymore. In our death, we will no longer see destruction to water bodies and farmlands as we see currently.
“We have seen the level of force the state can deploy, they should use the same force to stop galamsey; otherwise, we will be hitting the streets again shortly. The police can no longer give an excuse that they lack manpower and logistics because we saw these at play during the demonstration. We want to see action against galamsey within two weeks or we return to the streets,” he said.
Source: Adinkraradio.com