Several young pipo don hit di street to start dia three-day demonstration against illegal mining (galamsey) for Ghana.
Di demo also dey call for di release of 53 young pipo wey dey inside prison and police cells afta police arrest dem on 24 September during one protest against di same illegal mining wey don destroy all di kontri waterbodies and forests.
Dat protest wey one group dem call democracy hub organise suppose happun for three days.
But police arrest 53 pipo on di second day of di protest wey dem tok say di pipo engage for “unlawful and uncivil actions”, something di protesters don deny.
One circuit court remand all di 53 pipo to prison and police custody – afta police charge dem wit conspiracy to commit crime, unlawful assembly, unlawful damage to property, assault on public officer and stealing.
Di pipo plead not guilty during di court hearing.
Since den, plenty pipo don blast goment and di police say dem dey abuse di rights of di pipo.
Wia dis foto come from, ECONOMIC FIGHTERS LEAGUE/FACEBOOK
Amnesty International Ghana don condemn di action of di police and say make dey release dem immediately.
“We no support all forms of violence wey include to abuse pipo dia right and freedom of expression and assembly,” di human rights group tok.
Oda ogbonge groups don add dia voice to put pressure on top di goment to release di protesters wey dey inside cells and prison since 24 September 2024.
Lawyers for di 53 pipo don complain say police no dey feed di detainees wey neva dey allowed to see dia families.
Democracy hub also accuse di police say dem dey deny di detained protesters access to dia lawyers.
Dem also tok say police deny two of di pipo dey arrest, access to medical care as dem dey sick.
Lead activist for di #StopGalamsey protest Oliver Barker-Vormawor and one oda pesin Fanny Otoo bin fall sick wey dey admit dem for hospital.
Despite say dia lawyers tok di court say make e allow dem to seek medical care for some oda place, di court tok say make dem dey remanded for police cells.
Wia dis foto come from, KOJO AKOTO BOATENG
Wetin goment tok about di 53 arrested protesters
Pipo from goment bin tok say wetin di police do, na correct tin.
Attorney general Godfred Dame bin tok during di annual general meeting for judges and magistrates say “make di police finish dia investigation quick quick by di next adjourned date (8, 11 October), against di pipo dey arrest wey dey no fit get evidence against.”
Im tok say make di prosecution consider di bail application of di demonstrators.
Godfred Dame also tok for di same event say di protestors “exceed dia freedom of expression.”
“Some pipo don dey create tension ahead of di election, wey dey don dey use dis kind demonstration to attack security forces and disrupt essential public services,” di AG tok.
He say pipo wey go beyond dia freedom and right to attack security and oda pipo gat to face di law.
Pipo don begin dey use #FreeTheCitizens for social media to put pressure on di police to release di pipo dem arrest during di protest.
On X (formerly Twitter), many young pipo jump on di hashtag wey dem call on goment to ban illegal mining and declare state of emergency.
Na so dis hashtag now turn into another demonstration wey dey happun for di capital Accra from 3-5 October.
Wetin be di plan for dis fresh three-day protest?
As police continue to keep di 53 pipo wey dem arrest inside prison and police cells, di young pipo for di kontri say #EnoughIsEnough.
With two hashtags – #FreeTheCitizens and #SayNoToGalamsey, di young pipo don carry dia advocacy and protest from X (twitter), to di streets on Thursday 3 October.
For di three days, di pipo go present petition to di attorney general, parliament of Ghana, di lands and natural resources minister.
One of di petition, na to di attorney general, say make dem release di 53 pipo dem put inside cell and prison since 24 September.
Anoda petition to di parliament of Ghana be to create laws wey go stop di illegal mining.
Di oda petition na to di lands and natural resources minister say make dem ban all forms of mining for di kontri waterbodies and forests.
Di protesters don carry samples of di polluted water for some of di areas to di demo site to show to goment officials say dangerous metals like mercury, lead, cyanide inside di water dey poison di citizens.
Ghana be di leading gold-producing kontri for Africa
Ghana bin regain di position as Africa’s leading producer of gold in 2023; afta di kontri take ova from South Africa.
Di President Nana Akufo-Addo tok during di 2024 state of di nation address in February say “gold production don reach 4 million ounces sake of policies wey di goment do.”
Im add say “gold export from di small-scale mining sector don increase by 900% ova di last two years sake of goment don reduce witholding tax on top unprocessed gold by small-scale miners from 3% to 1.5%.”
Di kontri minerals commission say for di first half of 2024 alone, mineral export don jump to $9.2b wit gold alone accounting for 54% wey be up to $5b.”
Di Ghana water company tok say rivers wey dey di western (pra, daboase, ankobra rivers), eastern (birim river), greater accra (densu wey dey carry water from di western part of di kontri), ashanti (enu river) and northern region (nawumi river) all don dey polluted wey e dey increase di cost of treating dis water wey di company go supply to pipo dia homes across di kontri.
Organized labour and oda civil society groups don already declare strike ova di mata.
Di groups tok say make goment ban all forms of small-scale mining, declare state of emergency, send security forces to clear illegal miners on top di rivers and create courts wey go prosecute illegal mining cases.
Illegal mining na crime for Ghana as pesin fit to enta jail for at least 10 years.
But goment neva listen; many pipo including environmental NGOs, and former sector minister Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng tok say goment neva wan ban di activity sake of some goment officials and political party pipo dey involve.
