From my Rooftop: The police and demonstrations
Some of the benefits of the 1992 Republican Constitution are the individual freedoms and liberties it offers citizens.
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Article 21 is quite clear and explicit. It says in (1) All persons shall have the right to:
(a) Freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media;
(b) Freedom of thought, conscience and belief, which shall include academic freedom;
(c) Freedom to practise any religion and to manifest such practice;
(d) Freedom to assembly including freedom to take part in processions and demonstrations;
(e) Freedom of association, which shall include freedom to form or join trade unions other associations, national and international, for the protection of their interest;
(f) Freedom of information, subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society;
(g) Freedom of movement, which means the right to move freely in Ghana, the right to leave and to enter Ghana and immunity from expulsion from Ghana.
There is nothing like absolute freedom and it did not take long for the political leadership to realise this. That was how the Public Order Act came into being. Otherwise, it is possible to wake up one morning to see demonstrations going on all over the country by different people.
The police, under the Public Order Act, (Act 491 of 1994) are to act as impartial referees to ensure that the freedom to demonstrate is not abused. The act was also framed in such a manner that it does not give the police absolute power such as to take away from the individual, the right to demonstrate.
Section 1 – Notification of Police of Special Event
(1) Any person who desires to hold any special event within the meaning of this Act in any public place shall notify the police of his intention not less than five days before the date of the special event.
(2) The notification shall be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the organisers of the special event and shall specify:
(a) The place and hour of the special event;
(b) The nature of the special event;
(c) The time of commencement;
(d) The proposed route and destination, if any; and
(e) The proposed time of closure of the event.
(3) The notification shall be submitted to a police officer not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) or other police officer responsible for the nearest police station to the location of the proposed special event.
(4) Where a police officer notified of a special event under subsection (1) has reasonable grounds to believe that the special event if held may lead to violence or endanger the public defence, public order, public safety, public health or the running of essential services or violate the rights and freedoms of other persons, he may request the organisers to postpone the special event to any other date or to relocate the special event.
There are good intentions behind the Public Order Act (Act 491) to ensure that in the application of freedom to demonstrate, society does not suffer because of the abuse of those freedoms.
And whether we agree or not, demonstrations can turn hostile and violent depending on the issues at stake and the nature of those embarking on the demonstration, so it is necessary that the police are kept in the picture to protect the public good.
Even though the Public Order Act confers a lot of powers on the police, it never gave the police the power to stop demonstrations.
Where organisers of special events, in this case demonstrations, fail to take the advice of the police and insist on going ahead with their programme, the police can apply section (6) of the Act which says; “Where the organisers refuse to comply with the request under subsection (4) or fail to notify the police officer in accordance with subsection (5), the police officer may apply to any judge or a chairman of a tribunal for an order to prohibit the holding of the special event on the proposed date or at the proposed location.”
Section (7) says; “The judge or chairman may make such order as he considers to be reasonably required in the interest of defence, public order, public safety, public health, the running of essential services or to prevent violation of the rights and freedoms of other persons”.
Whatever the good intentions behind the Public Order Act, it is becoming increasingly clear that it has become a dangerous weapon that could be easily abused to curtail the freedoms of citizens.
About two weeks ago, students of the Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon decided to embark upon a Hepatitis B awareness float as part of their Hall Week celebrations.The police went into action invoking the powers conferred upon them by the Public Order Act to stop the students and went further to arrest some of them.
Even under military dictatorship, students had never been stopped from celebrating their hall week.
Apparently, the police got wind that the students were going to demonstrate in support of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) who were on strike for their grievances in respect of the single spine salary pay policy.
The police are on the warpath. Their posture may seem to be in the public interest but unknown to them they are denying Ghanaians some of their fundamental rights and freedoms – rights that even dictators could not take away from them.
For the police to come out with a public statement that demonstrations have been suspended with the flimsy excuse that they are constrained by the Supreme Court hearing of the election petition is an insult to our democracy.
The Supreme Court is not a battleground. If it is, the military would be the best institution to take care of things and providing security at the Supreme Court does not amount to a state of emergency; the only time the rights and freedoms of the citizens could be curtailed as prescribed by the 1992 Constitution.
There is only one country in the world where public demonstrations are prohibited. That is North Korea. We do not believe that our democracy, which is being touted as the best or among the best on the continent, has reached a point where the citizens cannot express themselves freely on matters they feel strongly about.
The political leadership may pretend that it is not aware of the statement from the police banning public demonstrations, a power that resides only in the President of the Republic when he declares a state of emergency.
Article 31 (1) of the 1992 Constitution says; The President may, acting in accordance with the advice of the Council of State, by proclamations published in the Gazette, declare that a state of emergency exists in Ghana or in any part of Ghana for the purposes of the provisions of this Constitution”.
When it becomes reasonably necessary for the President to declare a state of emergency all over the country or parts of the country, it will amount to the curtailment of personal freedoms and liberties including the right to hold demonstrations as the case may be.
In the absence of such emergency powers, no individual, group or organ of state can unilaterally trample upon the rights of the citizens of this country, hiding under any excuses.
In any case, there is only one Supreme Court sitting in Accra. The police are not telling Ghanaians that because of the election petition, armed robbers and other criminals can have their way.
Emotions are like water. They will definitely find their way. It is better to direct and control them than to allow them to find their own level which can be disastrous.
When Margaret Thatcher died, there were those who jubilated. That is something abominable in our part of the world. On the day of her funeral, there were others who demonstrated in another part of London, against the state funeral being accorded her. Nobody tried to stop them. That is democracy.
Let the people express themselves openly on matters that concern them. Nobody will suffer for that. It will not make any difference. But there will be a big difference when you try to suppress their feelings. Find out what happens when a dam collapses. The huge volume of water that was trapped behind it will come with a force that would wash away everything on its path.
If there should be a choice, I will prefer the trickles.
Article by Kofi Akordor