The Fixing the Country Movement, a pro-NPP group has announced its intention to protest at Mr. Mahama’s office on November 16 2023.
According to the Convener for the group, Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu, its actions are intended to express its displeasure over the lack of progress in the Airbus Corruption investigations involving former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.
He emphasized that the Fixing the Country Movement is appalled at the ‘nonchalant attitude’ being deployed on the Airbus Corruption investigations.
“It has been over three years when Airbus SE, a global provider of civilian and military aircraft based in France, agreed to pay combined penalties of more than $3.9 billion to resolve foreign bribery charges with authorities in the United States, France and the United Kingdom arising out of the Company’s scheme to use third-party business partners to bribe government officials, as well as non-governmental airline executives, around the world’.
Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu
Interestingly, the Ghana Police Service has agreed on the date for the planned protest by the pro-government pressure group, Fixing The Country Movement on November 16 2023.
Meanwhile, the opposition NDC youth group led by the Greater Accra Regional Youth Organizer, Amorse Blessing Amos have also responded with their salvos, claiming that anyone who gets in the way of their flagbearer’s office will face severe consequences.
“The leadership of the regional wing has read with much disdain, a Peacefmonline report of which one Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah, a self-styled convenor of an amorphous group, Fixing the Country Movement, has issued a 14-day ultimatum to picket in front of the office of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. In the event Owusu Bempah and his group remain nonchalant and attempt anything close to what they have announced, they should pay for their coffins and graves before they come”.
Amorse Blessing Amos
The Greater Accra Regional Youth Organizer of the opposition NDC has received cheerful support from some members of his party including the Ashanti and Eastern Regional Youth Wings and the Ningo-Prampram Member of Parliament, Samuel Nartey George.
For the past few weeks, it has been a series of throwing words and daring comments between these two groups across the various media platforms in the country.
Seasoned and celebrated journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has expressed his resentment and disdain about the decision of the Fixing The Country Movement to protest at the residence of the Former President, John Dramani Mahama and described the action by the group as completely needless.
“Why picket the Office of former President Mahama when your concern is about the pace of investigations into the Airbus saga? Shouldn’t the Office of the Special Prosecutor be your focal point, if any? Picketing the former President’s Office is to embark on a journey to the wrong destination.”
Abdul Malik Kweku Baako
Freedom Of Speech And Assembly In Chaos
It is constitutionally guaranteed that every citizen of Ghana has the right to free speech and assembly. This simply implies that every individual can express his or her opinion on national issues as well as embark on public protest if he/she intends to.
However, in the expression of one’s fundamental human right, he/she is also enjoined by the same constitution to respect the rights of others.
The question is why Owusu Bempah can’t and his group in their quest to exercise their right of demanding accountability respect the rights of other private citizens?
Protesting at private individuals’ residences raises significant ethical, legal, and safety concerns, which is why it should be discouraged. In some cases, it is illegal.
For instance, protesting at someone’s residence is a direct intrusion into their personal space. It can be emotionally distressing for individuals and their families, causing stress, fear, and anxiety.
Again, protesting at private residences can pose security risks for both the individuals being protested against and the protestors themselves. It can lead to confrontations which can escalate quickly, leading to verbal or physical altercations. This escalation can have severe consequences for all parties involved.
In the above case, the confrontations between the two groups even before the protest give enough signs of what would happen if the protest is allowed to take place.
Interestingly, the National Security Minister, Mr. Alber Kan-Dapaah, who recently decried the possibility of disinformation and misinformation distorting the public peace and order of the country has not seen the doom that looms if such activity is allowed to take place.
It’s essential to remember that individuals have rights to privacy and security in their homes, hence peaceful protests should be directed at public spaces, government institutions, or corporate offices, where individuals have more direct influence over the issues being protested.
In this case the group can protest at the Office of the Special Prosecutor since it is the state institution investigating the matter
In conclusion, State institutions mandated by law to maintain the peace of the country must take all measures to prevent any avoidable and unfortunate occurrences on November 16 2023.
Coming events they say cast their shadows. To with before such event happens some initial effects indicating the nature of an event may be felt before it takes place.
