The government has criticized the organizers of the OccupyJulorbiHouse protest, branding them as ineffective because they failed to submit a petition outlining their concerns.
In an interview, Alhassan Tampuli Sulemana, the Member of Parliament for Gushegu and Deputy Minister of Transport, revealed that he had been appointed by the government to receive the petition from the Democracy Hub group.
However, he expressed disappointment that the group did not present any concerns during the protest.
“It became very necessary for us to meet them. At some point, I was told, for instance, that all of them wanted to come. So we said, okay, we will move to where you are if you just want to present a petition. I will move under escort to wherever they were. That was when I was told that actually there was no petition. So it is like a right that has been exercised but the point hasn’t been drummed home. So the leadership actually failed.”
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Accra for three days of anti-government protests linked to economic hardship that led to dozens of arrests on the first day.
Protesters, some waving placards or the Ghanaian flag, decried the high cost of living and a lack of jobs as they marched under the watch of riot police.
The gold-, oil-, and cocoa-producing nation has been grappling with its worst economic crisis in a generation, driven by spiraling public debt.
The protest continued despite the police filing an injunction application on Wednesday, September 20, to prevent the Democracy Hub group from proceeding with their planned protest.
Despite the police’s orders, the group’s leaders insisted on proceeding with the protest. On Thursday, September 21, the police prevented the group from gathering at Jubilee House, leading to the arrest of 49 members of Democracy Hub.
Undeterred, the group continued their protest on Friday and Saturday, but the police blocked their attempts to march to Jubilee House.
