Remanded protesters misconducted themselves – Akufo-Addo

Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commented on the recent arrests and subsequent incarceration of protesters in Ghana.

He says the executive has no hand in the arrests and decision by the court to remand the protesters.

The Ghanaian President was speaking to France 24 when he made this known.

“I am not responsible for jailing people in Ghana. The courts in Ghana are independent institutions, and they have been all through this period of the Fourth Republic.

People misconduct themselves and are brought before the court, and it’s for the court to deal with them. It has nothing to do with the executive. Their behaviour is what led to problems with the police and the court,” he told France 24 in an interview.

Over 50 Ghanaians have been remanded after they were arrested for engaging in some form of illegality during a protest against galamsey.

There have been calls on the government to release these people who have been remanded for two weeks by an Accra Circuit Court.

Opposition leader, John Dramani Mahama, in a post condemning the court’s decision, described it as high-handed and called on the government to ensure that these persons are released from police custody.