President Nana Akufo-Addo has been accused of using the COVID-19 pandemic to cow the citizenry into submission.
National Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, said the government is hiding behind the pandemic to deny citizens their right to demonstrate.
His comment follows the decision by the police not to allow a group hold a protest dubbed: ‘FixThe Country’ on Sunday, May 9, 2021.
The police argue that the assembly goes against the ban on public gatherings currently in place as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The police have secured an injunction against the group.
Though the group had a dialogue with the National Security Minister, Kan Dapaah, it is unclear the outcome of the meeting.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Thursday, Mr Gyamfi stated unequivocally that there is no legal restriction against public gatherings.
Rather, he claimed the police are being used by President Akufo-Addo to prevent frustrated Ghanaians from amplifying their concerns.
He cited how ahead of the 2020 electioneering campaign, both the NDC and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) held mammoth rallies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to buttress his point.
If the COVID-19 situation in Ghana now is stable, Mr Gyamfi believes the people should be allowed to exercise their fundamental human rights.
“It will be hypocritical for President Akufo-Addo to prevent them from demonstrating because he addressed people at rallies when COVID was at its peak,” he stressed.
The NDC man warned it will be politically unwise for a government to suppress the anger of the citizenry.