Kwesi Pratt Jnr., the Editor-in-Chief of the Insight newspaper, has voiced his opposition to the Public Order Act, which mandates organizers of demonstrations to inform the Police of their intentions no less than 5 days in advance.
Enshrined in the Public Order Act 1994 (Act 491), the stipulation reads, “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 5 days before the date of the special event.”
Pratt argues that this requirement contradicts the constitutional right to demonstrate. He emphatically stated on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show that it is a “flagrant violation of the law; flagrant violation of the constitution” for a protester to seek permission from the Police before undertaking their intended action.
He further contended that individuals who wish to demonstrate should have the spontaneous right to do so. According to Pratt, “some events in the country may unfold so swiftly that by the end of the 5-day notice period, the urgency and momentum would have waned. People should also have the right to demonstrate instantly. Thus, the ‘5-day’ rule, in practice, seems to have interfered with the original provisions of the 1992 constitution.”
Warning against the repercussions of suppressing peaceful protests, he cited, “Those who make peaceful protest impossible make violent ones necessary.”
Mr. Pratt’s remarks were made in reference to the #OccupyBoG demonstration orchestrated by the Minority in Parliament. The protest aims to picket the Bank of Ghana until Governor Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies resign. The Minority accuses them of financial impropriety and mismanagement within the Bank of Ghana, demanding their immediate removal from office.
