Police and protesters share blame for demonstration clash, says Joshua Jebuntie Zaato

Political analyst Joshua Jebuntie Zaato has stated that both the police and demonstrators share responsibility for the recent clashes during a three-day protest organised by the Democracy Hub. 

Speaking on Asaase Radio’s The Forum on Saturday (28 September), Zaato criticised Ghana’s tendency to adopt heavy-handed responses to social unrest.

“In this country in general, whenever anything happens, our option is always to go for one-size-fits-all solutions,” Zaato said. 

He suggested that the police could have employed alternative measures, such as issuing fines, rather than resorting to mass arrests.

“That one deescalates the process because there’s something about a fine; the person is going to see a fine; it’s a lawful fine coming from a court because it tells you that if you don’t do [it], [the] court is going to issue a bench warrant for you,” he added. 

“Immediately you even go back to the crowd, you are going to sit down and think, hey, these protests will finish, people will go back home, [and] when I go back home, I have these bills to pay.”

He argued that fines ranging from GHC1,000 to GHC3,000 would have been a more effective deterrent than the confrontational arrests made.

Zaato also directed some of his criticism towards the protesters, suggesting that their approach hindered the very public support they sought. 

He pointed out that blocking access to essential services, such as hospitals, could alienate the general public, whose backing is crucial for achieving their objectives.

“Your concerns are legitimate; your concerns against galamsey are legitimate; your concerns against galamsey are right and you want the public support to help you achieve it,” Zaato said. 

“It is the same public that you are preventing from assessing in the hospital; it’s the same public that you are preventing from doing this.”

“How do you then expect this same public to help you achieve what you want? And that’s what I’m saying: the protesters must begin to look at it from a qualitative perspective.”

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