‘As we speak, Ghana is a crime scene’ – Protesters drum home message to Gov’t

Protesters at the ongoing #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstrations have shown up with hard-hitting messages to the government of Ghana.

Holding placards with different messages aimed at sparking the government into action for better conditions of living, the demonstrators are currently around the 37 Lorry Station.

Some of the placards read, “As we speak, Ghana is a crime scene”, “A democracy without accountability cannot survive” and as we speak, Ghana is not free forever.”

Others also carried the messages: “Poverty is a crime, we need a new social construct” and “We taya the plenty lies.”

The #OccupyJulorbiHouse kickstarted on Thursday, September 21, 2023, to coincide with the commemoration of Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, which was a national holiday.

The protest, which currently continuing today and will be held on Saturday too, is geared towards campaigning against corruption, economic hardship and demanding accountability from politicians.

The protestors were stopped from demonstrating on Thursday by the Police, with many of them also getting arrested in the process before later being released.

On Friday, though, the protestors returned to continue their match towards the seat of government and are currently stationed around the 37 Military Hospital following a Police blockade.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has said contrary to the Ghana Police’s claims, journalists from foreign media organisations were actually arrested during the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protest.

A statement signed by the GJA’s general secretary Kofi Yeboah said journalists from the BBC, AFP and AP were detained by the police despite identifying themselves.

“Our investigations indicated that some journalists, including correspondents of foreign media organisations such as the BBC, AFP and AP, were arrested in spite of the fact that they properly identified themselves,” a section of the statement said.

Reports also emerged that some journalists covering the protest were detained, although the Police later refuted the claim.

Reacting to this in the statement, the GJA said its own investigations suggest that indeed some journalists were arrested by the Police.

The journalists’ welfare body further condemned the actions of the police, describing it as unprofessional and unwarranted.

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