The Police Acts Illegally

The conduct of the Ghana Police Service in seeking to ban demonstrations is

not just repugnant in the extreme, it is also illegal.

Indeed the police are not clothed with any power to prevent a citizen or a

group of citizen from organizing a demonstration.

In chapter Five, Article 21 (Id) the constitution states inter alia that

“All persons shall have the right to freedom of assembly including the

freedom to take part in processions and demonstrations”.

It must be clear from this provision that the drafters of the 1992

constitution intended to make the right to demonstrate unfetted and they

did so.

The only limitation to the right to freely demonstrate is imposed by the

Public Order Law (Act 491) which was passed by parliament in 1994 but even

that law does not confer any authority on the police to ban demonstrations.

Indeed, under the law only the High Court has the power to prevent

citizens from organizing a demonstration.

The powers of the High Court are not unlimited.

It is clear that the decisions of the police to ban or prevent

demonstrations are completely illegal.

For the purpose of providing clarity, the full text of the Public Order

Law is reproduced below;

PUBLIC ORDER ACT

1994 (ACT 491)

Section 1-Notification to Police of Special of Event.

(1) Any person who desires to hold any special event within

the meaning of this Act in any public place shall notify the police of his

intention not less than 5 days before the date of the special event.

(2) The notification shall be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the

organisers of the special event and shall specify—

(a) the place and hour of the special event,

(b) the nature of the special event;

(c) the time of commencement;

(d) the proposed route and destination, if any; and

(e) proposed time of closure of the event.

(3) The notification shall be submitted to a police officer not below the

rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police or other police officer

responsible for the nearest police station to the location of the proposed

special event.

(4) Where a police officer notified of a special event under subsection (1)

has reasonable grounds to believe that the special event if held may lead

to violence or endanger public defence, public order, public safety, public

health or the running of essential services or violate the rights and

freedoms of other persons, he may request the organisers to postpone the

special event to any other date or to the relocate the special event.

(5) An organiser requested under subsection (4) to postpone or relocate the

holding of a special ever shall within forty-eight hours of the request,

notify the police officer in writing of his willingness to comply.

(6) Where the organisers refuse to comply with the request under subsection

(4) or fail to notify the police officer in accordance with subsection (5),

the police officer may apply to any judge or a chairman of a Tribunal for

an order to prohibit the holding of the special event on the proposed date

or at the proposed location.

(7) The judge or chairman may make such order as he considers to be

reasonably required in the interest of defence, public order, public

safety, public health, the running of essential services or to prevent

violation of the rights and freedoms of other persons.

(2) Section 2-Control of Routes and Crowds.

(1) It shall be the responsibility of every police officer

to take all such steps as are reasonably necessary in any public place—

(a) to assist in the proper conduct of any special event by directing the

routes of such event to prevent obstruction of pedestrian or vehicular

traffic;

(b) to disperse crowds at any special event where he has reasonable grounds

to believe that a breach of the peace is likely to occur or if any breach

of the peace has Occurred or is occurring in order to prevent violence,

restore order and preserve the peace.

(2) The Police officer III charge of an area of a special event may cause

to be closed such streets or parts thereof to pedestrian or vehicular

traffic or both and may cause to be erected such barriers as may be

necessary to preserve public order.

(2) Section 3-Responsibility of Organisers and Other Persons.

(1) Where at any special event any damage is caused to any public

property, the organisers, or any other persons found to have been

responsible for the damage caused shall be liable to pay for the cost of

the damage.

(2) Any person taking part in a special event shall obey the directions of

police officers safeguarding the proper movement of other persons and

vehicles and generally maintain order.

(3) Any person taking part in a special event shall conduct himself in such

a manner as to avoid causing obstruction of traffic, confusion or disorder.

(2) Section 4-Power to Impose Curfew.(1) Where the Minister for the

Interior considers that it is reasonably required in the interest of

defence, public safety, public health, the running of essential services or

the protection of the rights and freedoms of other persons to impose a

curfew in any part of Ghana, he may by executive instrument impose a curfew

in such part only of the country as shall be specified in the instrument.

(2) No instrument shall be issued under subsection (1) to impose a curfew

in the whole of Ghana.

(3) The Minister shall on imposing a curfew notify Parliament as soon as

practicable thereafter.

(4) No curfew shall be imposed for a period exceeding seven days at any one

time under this Act.

(5) Where a curfew is imposed by instrument made under subsection (1) of

this section, no person shall be out of doors between such hours as may be

specified in the instrument except under the authority of a written permit

granted by such person as may be specified in the instrument.

(6) An instrument imposing a curfew may exempt from its operation such

persons or classes of persons as may be specified in it.

(7) An instrument imposing a curfew may authorise any person specified

therein to suspend the operation of the curfew in any specified area or

part.

Section 5-Power to Prohibit Manufacture, Possession of Arms.

(1) Where the Minister for the Interior considers that it is reasonably

required in the interest of defence, public safety, the prevention of

disorder or crime or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of other

persons to do so, he may by executive instrument prohibit any person from

manufacturing, possessing or carrying arms or ammunition within any part of

Ghana specified in the instrument.

(2) An instrument issued under subsection (1) may exclude from its

operation such classes of persons as the Minister may think fit.

(3) An instrument issued under subsection (1) may in lieu of prohibiting

the manufacture, possession or carrying of arms, permit the possession or

carrying of arms subject to such conditions as the Minister may think fit.

(4) An instrument issued under subsection (1) may contain provisions for

requiring persons in possession of arms or ammunition to deposit them with

such person or authority as may be prescribed in the instrument and for

matters connected with it.

(5) Any arms or ammunition deposited with any person or authority in

accordance with an instrument issued under subsection (1) shall be returned

to the person entitled to them on the instrument ceasing to have effect

where there is authority to bold the arms or ammunition.

Section 6-Power of Arrest.

A police officer may arrest without warrant any person whom he suspects on

reasonable grounds of possessing or carrying arms in contravention of an

instrument issued under section 5 of this Act.

Section 7-Power of Search.

(1) A District Magistrate or Chairman of a Community Tribunal may issue a

warrant under his hand authorising any police officer to enter and search

any buildings or premises in which any arms or ammunition are suspected to

be in contravention of an instrument issued under section 5 of this Act.

(2) A warrant issued under this section shall be valid notwithstanding that

the buildings or premises are not specified further therein than being

buildings or premises in or about the specified town or village.

Section 8-Forfeiture of Arms and Ammunition Seized

Any arms or ammunition found in the possession of, or being carried by any

person in contravention of an instrument made under section 5 of this Act

shall be seized and unless it is shown that failure to deposit them in

accordance with the instrument was due to inadvertence or other reasonable

excuse, shall be forfeited to the State.

Section 9-Offence and Penalties

Any person who—

(a) fails to notify the police of any special event contrary to section

(1); or

(b) fails to inform the police of his unwillingness to comply with a

request contrary to section 1 (5); or

(c) takes part in any special event knowing that no notification has been

given to the police; or

(d) acts contrary to a curfew imposed under this Act; or

(e) manufactures, possesses or carries arms or ammunition contrary to a

prohibition imposed under this Act; or

(f) acts contrary to any provision in section 3 commits an offence and is

liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ¢2 million or imprisonment for

a term not exceeding 1 year or to both.

Section 10-Interpretation

In this Act unless the context otherwise requires—

"ammunition" includes explosives, all ammunitions of war and all materials

for loading firearms;

"arms" includes firearms and offensive weapons of all descriptions,

artillery, apparatus for the discharge of all kinds of projectiles,

explosive or gas-diffusing flame-throwers, bombs, grenades, machine-guns

and rifled small-bore breech-loading weapons of all kinds, and includes

also all parts of any of the foregoing;

"firearms" includes any gun, rifle, machine-gun, cap-gun, flint-lock gun or

pistol, revolver, cannon or other firearms, and any air gun, air pistol,

whether whole or in detached pieces;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for the Interior;

"offensive weapon" means an article made or adapted for causing injury to a

person or intended by the person having it with him for such use by him;

"organisers" means the person or persons who signed the notification

provided for under section 1(2) or on whose behalf the notification was

signed;

"public place" means a place to which, at the material time, the public

have or are permitted to have access whether on payment or otherwise;

"pecial event" means procession, parade, carnival, street dance celebration

of traditional custom, outdooring of traditional ruler,

demonstration, public meeting and similar event but does not include—

(a) religious meeting;

(b) charitable, social or sporting gathering;

(c) any lawful public entertainment or meeting.

Section 11-Repeal

The Public Order Decree, 1972 (N.R.C.D. 68) and the Public Order

(Amendment) Law, 1983 (P.N.D.C.L. 48) are hereby repealed.

*Editorial *

*SOMEBODY MUST STOP THE POLICE *

The Ghana Police Service has a responsibility to uphold the Constitution

as law enforcement agencies.

It is for this reason that The Insight is deeply worried about the blatant

violations of the law by the Police.

Over the last couple of months, the police demonstrations.

We insist that the police has no authority to ban demonstrations.

The Insight urges all organisations interested in the preservation of the

democratic rights of citizens to protest the illegal actions of the police.

The Police must be told in plain language that it is not above the law and

cannot take the law into its own hands.

Somebody must stop the police from violating the law.

Source:

http://theinsightnewspaper.blogspot.be/2013/10/police-acts-illegally.html