Gabby Otchere-Darko, a lawyer and cousin to Ghana’s president, has expressed disgust at how prospective lawyers were maltreated by personnel of the Ghana Police Service in what started as a peaceful demonstration.
The protesters were met with brute force – beaten, teargassed, bombarded with water cannons, firing of warning shots – while marching to the seat of government, Jubilee House, to petition the president on a number of issues at the Ghana School of Law militating against their quest to become lawyers.
At least 13 of them were arrested by the police.
Under the auspices of the Students Representative Council (SRC) of the School, Monday’s demonstration was to demand immediate reforms to legal education in Ghana.
This follows recent mass failure at an entrance examination into the law school. Only a paltry 128 out of over 1800 students who sat for the examination were passed to enroll.
Read: USAG stupefied by mass failure of law graduates; wants results investigated
Moment after disturbing videos on the modus operandi adopted by the police to demobilize the demonstrators went out, many high profile persons went on social media, to vent their anger.
Gabby Otchere-Darko, for instance, felt the police failed to apply “common sense” in the discharge of their duty.
Himself a victim of police brutality when he joined the Let My Vote Counts demonstrators in the run-up to the 2016 general elections, Gabby said the action of the police amounts to “Harmful over-reaction against harmless but aggrieved students.”
For which reason, he stressed, “I’m disgusted!”
His full post on Facebook read:
“Deputy Chief of Staff, Abu Jinapor, just said that he was sent by the Chief of Staff to meet the protestors to collect their petition on behalf of the President. Simple matter.
“So, really, what called for the use of water canons, rubber bullets, etc? Granted, the protestors did not “obey orders”. Should the Police not also obey common sense?”
“The demonstration was about students protesting against the difficulties in getting to the Law School. Nothing directly to do with the Presidency. But, they are simply asking for the President’s intervention.
“Harmful over-reaction against harmless but aggrieved students. I’m disgusted!”
President of the Students Representative Council of the Ghana School of Law, Jonathan Alua, told Alfred Ocansey on TV3’s News360 that he and his colleagues have been charged.
They were charged with unlawful assembly and disturbing public peace, he said, noting the police were notified “10 clear days ahead” of the protest.
By Isaac Essel | 3news.com]]>
