A legal practitioner, Lawyer Nana Yaw Osei has stated that it is illegal for the Police to scuttle a planned demonstration.
According to him, the 1992 constitution and the Public Order Act has cancelled the permit Police have to give to someone before embarking on a demonstration.
His comments come after the Police in Kumasi scuttled a planned demonstration by small scale miners who were protesting the ban on their operations.
Speaking in an interview with OTEC FM on this development, Lawyer Nana Yaw Osei stressed that demonstrations are part of the Fundamental Human Rights of every Ghanaian and as such should not be abused.
Lawyer Nana Yaw Osei who was displeased by the action of the police, explained that the police should be notified at least 5days before a demonstration after which negotiations are made between the leaders of the demonstrators and the police on possible routes to be used for the exercise.
According to him, the police have no right to prevent any Ghanaian from using a desired route for a planned demonstration, but can only postpone the exercise if and when the time of the demonstration is not favorable or do not have enough personnel to ensure order throughout the exercise.
He however reiterated that the law gives everybody the right to demonstrate even if the police cannot provide enough personnel to ensure their safety
”However, if anything happens contrary to the law, the organizers will be held responsible”, he warned.
Lawyer Nana Yaw Osei stated that the only way for the police to prevent a demonstration is to seek a court injunction.
Source: otecfmghana.com/Kwaku Anane Jr.
