An Accra High Court has ruled that the office of the Attorney General (AG) can represent the Ghana Police Service in a case seeking to halt a street protest.
The fix the country campaigners had urged the court to dismiss a case seeking to restrain them from embarking on a street protest.
The campaigners say only a police officer can request under the public order to restrain protesters from hitting the streets.
They have in the last few weeks demanded better living conditions through a social media protest but the decision to take this onto the streets has been opposed by the police service with public health concerns as the basis.
Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame showed up in court to argue against the street protest, but the campaigners say this is unlawful.
A member of the legal team for the campaigner, Julius Assinyo, urged the court to dismiss the case. He told the court it cannot hear a matter bothering on public order filed in the name of the Republic instead of a police officer.
“The applicant does not have the capacity to bring this application under section 1 sub-section 6 of the public order act. Act 491. And as such, the court is not clothed with jurisdiction to hear or grant the application,“ he said.
The said section 1(6) states, “where the organiser refuses to comply with the request under subsection 4 or fails to notify the police officer in accordance with sub-section 5, the police officer may apply to the justice or chairman of the regional tribunal.”
But Mr Dame described the application as “completely misconceived and a misunderstanding of the fundamental laws regarding this application.”
He explained that every step within the context of the Public order Act , Act 491 is a criminal matter. He continued that under Article 88 of the constitution, the Attorney General is responsible for the initiation of all civil and criminal matters involving the Republic.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Ruby Aryeetey said Article 88 of the 1992 constitution makes the Attorney General’s office responsible for the initiation of all criminal cases and defending the republic in civil cases as well as initiating same on behalf of the Republic.
She stated that the police service or a police officer is not even competent to make such an application without the Attorney General’s permission.