The Ghana Police Service has petitioned the High Court for an injunction prohibiting three organisations from holding rallies in December.
The organisations, which included Democracy Hub, Patriotic Hub, and the Patriotic Forum for Accountable Governance, informed police of their plans to demonstrate at the Jubilee House in December 2023.
The GPS stated in a statement on Friday that it “undertook a security threat assessment of the proposed common destination, overlapping timelines and conflicting objectives for the three planned demonstrations.”
“The Police Command, after the security assessment, has reasonable grounds to believe that the three special events, if held around or at the forefront of the Jubilee House, and at the given timelines, especially around the Christmas and New Year Festivities, may endanger public safety, public defence, public order, the running and delivery of essential services and violate the rights and freedoms of other persons among others.”
The GPS stated that because of the difficulties and inability to provide the necessary security, the organisers should postpone their demonstration to a day after January 5, 2023.
However, the organisers refused, so “on November 15, 2023, the Police Command filed an application at the High Court seeking an order prohibiting the holding of the special events and successfully served the various organisers with the Court process.” The application will be heard on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.”
It told the public that it was dedicated to fostering the country’s rising democratic freedoms by providing the necessary security for people and groups exercising their constitutional right to demonstrate in a secure and peaceful manner in compliance with protest regulations.
