Chiefs And People Of Manya Krobo Banned From Demonstrating Against EC

Koforidua High Court has banned the Chiefs and

people of Manya Krobo from going on their planned

demonstration on Tuesday March 3, 2015 against

the Electoral Commission.

The restraining order which was served on three

respondents including Nene Asada Ahor I, Chief of

Akuse and PRO of the Manya Krobo Traditional

Council with suit number D16/117/2015 and

signed by Philip Yekple, Registrar of the Court has

prohibited the demonstration or any such activity

in the Krobo area from 1st to 15th March, 2015.

No reason has however been given by the Police or

the Court for the restraining order.

The Chiefs and people were gearing up to pour on

the street to, in their words, defend the

Constitution of the Republic and draw public and

national attention to the institutional impunity on

the part of the electoral commission(EC) which was bending the laws to

illegally conduct the assembly elections in the

Natriku electoral area at Akuse under the Shai

Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region

instead of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of

the Eastern Region. This according to the people

was a clear breach of the 1992 Constitution and a

disregard for the Supreme Court’s judgment on the

issue.

Until the service of the Restraining Order by the

Court on Saturday February 28, 2015, which the

people consider a repressive tactic by the state

apparatus to silence them and to deny them their

rights to demonstrate, tension was mounting in the

area with the various chiefs rallying their subjects

to join the youth in Tuesday’s street protest.

Spokesperson for Kloma Gbi, Hilary Saki Kodji said

“We find it strange why we should be prevented by

the Police without justification from exercising our

constitutional rights. All the same, we will respect

the Court because we are law-abiding; we will

push the date for the demonstration further but the

agitation continues aggressively and we will be

bold in doing this until someone gives us a

listening ear or the issue is logically resolved”.

Meanwhile the people look forward to get feedback from both government and the EC as the supreme court has ordered the EC to restart the whole process.