Police permit needed for organising demo

Navrongo (UE), June 19, GNA- Alhaji Amidu Mahama, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Upper East deputy Regional Police Commander, said there was the need for organizers of demonstrations to acquire police permit before undertaking such events in the country. It was a reaction to a demonstration by some Navrongo Central New Patriotic Party (NPP) NPP Constituency Chairpersons in Navrongo against the acclamation of Mr. Joseph Kofi Adda by the NPP to contest the Navrongo Central seat.

Alhaji Mahama told Ghana News Agency at Navrongo that it was against the law for any group of persons to go on demonstration without following the due process of the law and explained that there was the need to write to the police five days before any intended demonstration. He said on June 13 the police was informed by leaders of the recent demonstration that they were going to embark on a demonstration on July 17 only to hear that there was such an action going on. Alhaji Mahama said the leadership of the demonstration would be questioned about the development and the necessary measures taken against them.

He emphasized that the Police Administration would not allow any group of people to take the law into their own hands.

The Demonstrators finally presented a petition signed by Mr. Robert Wezeng Alasco, the Coordinator of the Navrongo Central Constituency Chairpersons, to the Constituency Executive for submission to the Regional Executive of the party and then to the headquarters of the NPP. Mathew Kampe, the NPP Constituency Second Vice Chairperson, who received the petition, asked the demonstrators to exercise restraint whilst he forwarded the petition to the appropriate quarters for redress.

The statement said delegates to the congress who acclaimed Mr. Adda were only informed a day before the event and the list of delegates presented to the Electoral Commission did not represent the actual polling station chairmen.

It also said the disqualification of the two other aspirants, Professor John Bonaventure Kaburise and Mr. Achuliwor Tito, who were to contest with Mr. Adda for the primaries, was unconstitutionally as they were not officially informed about the reasons for their exclusion.