Democracy Hub Protest You Have Right To Demonstrate But Violence Isnt Permitted Richard Ahiagbah Supports Police

Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah has expressed his displeasure with the behavior of members of the pressure group, Democracy Hub, who took to the streets at 37 Military Hospital to protest against government for failing to stop galamsey operations. 

The Democracy Hub demonstration was scuppered due to the misconduct of the protesters.

They blocked the principal road to the 37 Military Hospital which was seen to be detrimental to patients’ lives and also engaged in various acts of vandalism which compelled the Police to arrest some of them who are currently being detained following their arraignment before court. 

Richard Ahiagbah, who defended the rights of citizens to demonstrate in a statement copied to , nevertheless disagreed with the aggressive fashion of the protest.

He condemned the protesters’ conduct saying “the execution of the protest suffered the infiltration of some radical elements whose participation detracted from the democratic essence of the protest and now has become a matter requiring the intervention of the police and the courts."

Though defending the right of people to demonstrate which he said "in a democracy is inviolable and absolute” as “it's a tool at our disposal to hold governments accountable”, he however found the Democracy Hub protest disturbing.

"Somehow, the government is being blamed because critics and reporters, including @larryMadowo of CNN, assume that the protest was as peaceful as expected. The truth is that the demonstration degenerated into violent obstruction on the roads, destruction of public and private properties, and causing panic among road users."

Read full statement below:

The right of citizens to protest in a democracy is inviolable and absolute. It's a tool at our disposal to hold governments accountable. The Democracy Hub’s protest about the adverse impact of Galamsey on the environment enjoys the support of H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP, who have made every effort since 2017 to preserve our water bodies. 

However, the execution of the protest suffered the infiltration of some radical elements whose participation detracted from the democratic essence of the protest and now has become a matter requiring the intervention of the police and the courts.  

Somehow, the government is being blamed because critics and reporters, including @larryMadowo of CNN, assume that the protest was as peaceful as expected. The truth is that the demonstration degenerated into violent obstruction on the roads, destruction of public and private properties, and causing panic among road users.  

The police had a duty under the circumstances to sustain peace and order by fishing out the disruptive elements in the ranks of the protesters. They may have arrested an innocent spectator or peaceful protesters. When that is established, the police or the court must act quickly to free such people. 

Peaceful protests under H.E. Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia Mahamadu were without arrests or brutalities. For instance, the September 17th demonstration by the NDC against the Electoral Commission in Accra saw zero arrests or brutalities because it was peaceful. In our quest to protect and defend the rights of protesters, we must be careful not to overlook their excesses lest we undermine the capacity of law enforcement to secure public peace and order.   


To reiterate, I support the right of citizens to protest, but I also support the position that "we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence" (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).

Let’s keep it peaceful to deepen democracy and avoid entanglements with the law. It's possible.Josephine Acheampomaa/[email#160;protected]