#OccupyJulorBiHouse: Organisers To Sue IGP

Democracy Hub has resolved to take legal action against the Ghana Police Service over alleged brutalities meted out at protesters during the Occupy Jubilee House Protest on September 21, 2023.

The decision follows the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akufo Dampare’s statement that the organisers had failed to prove allegations of assault levelled against the police.

According to the group, the IGP’s statement is “reckless” and eludes leadership.

“We firmly believe that the IGP’s statement is not only reckless but also reflects a worrying institutional trend of disregarding proper procedure and standards. We are also disappointed by the failure of the IGP to exhibit the critical leadership expected of his office as well as a commitment to standards reflective of the Ghana Police Service’s pivotal role in maintaining law and order.

“We find, in connection with the above that, the IGP’s dismissive stance reflects an institutionalized refusal to acknowledge the lived experiences of pain and brutality suffered by peaceful demonstrators. Also, we have witnessed a pattern of misinformation and deliberate falsehoods disseminated by the Ghana Police Service under this IGP’s leadership. Given this track record, we have neither faith nor trust in the institution and its processes.”

They said despite having their devices confiscated to prevent the filming of the abuses, their evidence was overt.

“Despite these incontrovertible facts, we have observed the absence of an internal fact-finding process and administrative mechanisms to investigate police misconduct. Such omissions raise doubts about the institution’s commitment to uncovering the truth and procuring justice for civilians who are abused by the Police,” it affirmed as it announced the decision to drag the police to court.

Occupy Jubilee House Protest
The three-day Occupy Jubilee House protest in Accra began on Thursday, September 21- intentionally set to coincide with the birthday of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

The first day was marred by arrests by the police as they described the protest as an “unlawful assembly and violation of the Public Order Act”.

Some journalists and protesters as well as passers-by shared their experiences of brutality at the hands of the police during their arrest.

A female reporter with Metro TV said she was manhandled by a number of police officers after she was spotted filming the assault of a man who had been dragged from the entrance of the Accra Regional Police Command into the premises.

According to her, some of the officers pulled her by the collar of her shirt while one officer reached out for her cell phone- with which she took the footage- from between her thighs as she tried keeping it from them.

In a separate recount, Barker Vormawor, convenor of the protest said he was kept in a room together with other demonstrators at the Accra Regional Police Command where 17 individuals supposedly intelligence officers were let in the room to beat them up.

“Beyond the arrest and the violent nature of the arrest, the one I‘m taking particular offence is we were taken into the Greater Accra Regional Command, put into a room, and 17 individuals {in plain clothes} who were wearing all kinds of earrings, who had dyed their hairs in different manners where thrown into the room…to beat us,” he recounted.

These drew criticisms from stakeholders including the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and an advisory from the Commission on Human Rights Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

But the police rebutted the allegations and challenged individuals who claim otherwise to provide evidence of the assaults.

“Therefore, anyone with evidence to the contrary should provide it for investigation,” they said in a statement released on Friday, September 22, 2023.

No Evidence
During an engagement with the leadership of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in Accra on Tuesday, October 24, the IGP said not a single piece of evidence had been adduced to prove the alleged police brutality more than a month after the protest.

“As I speak, after months of completing that demonstration till today not a shred of evidence has been brought up to indicate that police brutalized them.”