-Okays Deadly Mass-Up Of Bawku Students To Eulogise Him
President Akufo Addo has once more been caught endangering the lives of citizens when his recent visit to the Northern part of the country saw hundreds of students in Bawku and its environs forced onto the streets to welcome him in blatant disregard for COVID-19 restrictions on mass gatherings.
This is the second time in less than one month that the President had encouraged the criminal breach of the COVID-19 regulations he signed into emergency laws himself.
The President and his entourage earlier this month converged with about 1000 mourners and party loyalists to mark the funeral rites of Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, alias “Sir John”, the former General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The President since Monday, June 21, 2021, has been in the northern part of the country on a working visit to commission some projects. He posted pictures on his Facebook page and has since been roasted for what critics described as his government’s hypocrisy towards enforcing COVID-19 restrictions on mass gatherings.
Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame is currently in an Accra High Court attempting to criminalise a planned protest by the youth movement called #fIxTheCountry. He claims the group’s attempt to protests on the street against such lawlessness and corruption of the political system should be stopped by the court and should be made criminal.
“Protestors can’t demonstrate but school kids who are supposed to be in class can come out and run after Nana Addo Presidential convoy? Asks actor Efia Odo.
“They really pick and choose who to use the law on…the hypocrisy stares blatantly in our faces. A democratic country yet we have to fight for our right to demonstrate. Is this the same Nana Addo who led the Kumepreko protest in 1995″?
A week ago, one of the conveners of the now-popular #FixTheCountry movement filed a petition with the Ghanaian Parliament, the Attorney General and the Police CID to investigate and criminally prosecute the President, his Vice, the Chief Justice and other government officials who blatantly breached the legislated COVID-19 restrictions when they attended Sir John’s funeral.
In what he described as “Executive Covid-19 lawbreakers”, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, wrote to express his “consternation, disgust and legitimate concern” by millions of Ghanaians over the recent reckless breach of restrictions on the mass gathering by the President and his lieutenants.
“The crime, which was broadcasted with impunity by the perpetrators of the crime, was organized and attended by several thousand people, many of whom are well-known public figures, and others have been captured by several hours of footage in the public domain. Several of these people appeared at the venue of the funeral, wearing funeral attire, suggesting that they were privy to the fact that the crime was afoot; agreed to participate in the commission of the crime; and in fact did participate in it, despite and in contravention of the restrictive measures adopted under the Imposition of Restrictions Act,” wrote Barker-Vormawor in the petition.
Barker-Vormawor’s petition is motivated by the fact that the youth movement has been incessantly prevented by the Ghana Police Service from mounting a street protest against corruption and crumbling socio-economic conditions caused by a rotten political status-quo.
The Police had caused injunctions to be slapped on the youth group with the excuse that their street protests would be illegally breaching the COVID-19 restrictions which were legislated under the signature of President Akufo Addo.