Balado Manu blasts police for banning mass activities

Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahafo Ano South in the Ashanti Region, Hon. Stephen Kwaku Balado Manu has taken a swipe at the Ghana Police Service for banning all 'special events' in the country.

He said the police 'goofed' in instituting that directive saying the motive was to gag Ghanaians and the public from expressing their views on happenings in the country through demonstrations.

He further described as preposterous the reason given by the head of administration at the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP)Rose Bio Atinga, that due to the election petition in the Supreme Court, an embargo has been put on mass activities.

He noted that the government of the day and the leadership of the police must know "position is not possession" and that there is no position in this world that nobody has occupied before.

He hinted that the probable reason for such "a bizarre directive" was an attempt to prevent the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) the Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) and other pressure groups from expressing dissenting views on the current state of affairs in the country.

According to him, even during the Dagbon crisis, no such odd directive was issued.

He, therefore, could not fathom the need for such a "frivolous directive from the Police".

He also observed that anytime AFAG or any other pressure group hints of embarking on the demonstration, the Police go to court to put an injunction on it.

He thus pointed out "AFAG and other pressure groups could also seek for an injunction to overturn the one by the Police so that the way could be paved for them to carry on with any demonstration."

Since March this year the Police have prevented several attempts by AFAG to embark on a demonstration.

The latest being when the group was forced to call off its April 18 demonstration after the Police secured an order to stop them on grounds that it does not have sufficient personnel to provide security for the demonstrators.

According to the Police, most of their personnel are on duty as the Supreme Court for their on-going election petition case.

The Police again have issued a directive banning every demonstration or mass activity in the country.