Socialite and actress, Efia Odo and more than 10 people have been granted bail following their arrest by the Ghana Police for demonstrating in front of the Law Court Complex in Accra as part of the #FixTheCountry protest.
According to the initiator of the #Fixthecountry trend, KALYJAY, Efia Odo and the others who were arrested “are fine and have been granted bail”.
How the arrest came about
According to reports, some conveners of the #Fixthecountry campaign were demonstrating in front of the court in Accra where the Criminal Division of the Court was hearing a case by the police seeking to place an injunction on the #FixTheCountry demonstration.
The court was hearing the case to deliver its ruling on whether the police could stop the demonstration and whether the Attorney-General could represent the police in court.
While the case was ongoing, some members of the group carrying placards protested in front of the court. Not long afterward, the police moved in and arrested them. They were taken to the Accra Regional Police command.
One of the conveners, Brownson Adatsi in an interview narrated what transpired. According to him, “this is a good sign for the struggle”.
“When you deny a peaceful demonstration, a clamorous demonstration becomes a recipe. You can’t just act outside the law. The police which should be educating people are rather flouting the laws. This is a good sign for our struggle, and we are all going to meet them wherever they want to meet us.
He stated that he doesn’t know the reason why Efia Odo and the other conveners have been arrested since according to him, they did nothing wrong.
“They haven’t disturbed the public peace, neither have they disturbed the court proceedings. They were at the entrance, and they have the right to hold whatever they were holding”.
He further noted that they “will follow it up and know what is next for us”.
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Ghanaians demand the release of Efia Odo and others
That notwithstanding, Ghanaians have also taken to social media to demand the immediate release of the actress and the other people that have been arrested.
A few minutes after the leaders and some other protestants were arrested, the hashtag #FreeEfiaOdo went up the trends on Twitter.
Among those joining in the hashtag is the initiator of the campaign KALYJAY, who wonders if “the culture of silence perceived to be creeping into the country is what is being witnessed”.
Well, the campaigners have in the last two months demanded that government fixes the worsening living conditions in the country.
However, their request has been met with stiff resistance from the Ghana Police Service, which has cited prevailing Covid-19 restrictions as reasons for not allowing them to demonstrate.
Accra High Court struck out application by Police to restrain demonstrators
Meanwhile, the Accra High Court has struck out the application by the police seeking to stop the demonstration by the #FixTheCountry movement.
In a ruling today, June 25, 2021, the court presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, struck out the application on the basis that the date for the initial protest, May 9, 2021, has already passed, so, there is no protest to be stopped.
“I’m of the opinion that the planned demonstration is passed and therefore the application is moot”.
She, however, ruled that in the event the #FixTheCountry protestors wanted to embark on a new protest, they must go through all the laid down procedures including the one relating to the restrictions on public gathering.
Read also: Houses in Ghana costs more than in Atlanta- Micheal Blackson joins the #fixthecountry campaign
