‘A luta continua!’

Last week’s public demonstrations organised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) across all the regional capitals following its quarrel with the Electoral Commission (EC) got me thinking the other day.

Honestly, I am quite ambivalent over the back-and-forth between the NDC and the EC. My idle thoughts are rather centred on the whole business of public demonstrations, popularly known as ‘a luta’ (Portuguese for ‘the struggle’).

Historical antecedents

Public protests have a rich history in this country, with the famous 28th February 1948 march to the Osu Castle by ex-servicemen being one of the most significant in our political history.

It galvanised the post-World War II nationalist movement by setting off a chain of events, including Positive Action in 1950, leading to several constitutional reforms and eventually independence in 1957.

Post-colonial Ghana also saw a number of protests and demonstrations, particularly from the late 1960s all the way into the 1980s, including widespread student demonstrations against the Busia government.

In 1974, the Acheampong government closed down the country’s three universities ― Legon, UST (as it was named then) and Cape Coast ― following student protests against military rule.

A few years later, anti-Union Government demonstrations rocked the regime, culminating in the fall of Acheampong in July 1978.

JJ Rawlings’s revolutionary regime had its fair share, with labour unions and student groups in particular hitting the streets. The irony was that these were the very groups that hailed the second coming of ‘Junior Jesus’ in December 1981 most loudly.

The love relationship turned sour when International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities imposed somewhere in 1983 began to bite. The universities were closed down on more than one occasion following student protests.

4th Republic protests

Under Article 21(1)(d) of the 1992 Constitution, the framers expressly guaranteed the freedom of citizens to take part in processions and demonstrations, subject, of course, to various constitutional and statutory provisions.

In November 1993, the Supreme Court, in the case of NPP v Inspector-General of Police, struck down the requirement of a police permit to demonstrate as provided by the Public Order Decree 1972(NRCD68), declaring it unconstitutional.

This subsequently gave rise to the enactment of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 491), which aligned the law with the court’s declaration and gave it effect.

The 4th Republic has had its own notable highlights in the public protest landscape, mainly revolving around economic conditions in the country and disagreements with the EC, along with complaints of police brutalities via hot water cannons, rifle butts, batons, pepper spray and tear gas.

The massive ‘Kume Preko’ demonstration of 1995 during the Rawlings presidency against the high cost of living and, particularly, the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on items was perhaps one of the biggest this country has seen, with the “Yabre”, “Sieme Preko”, “Wieme Preko” as its ‘satellite’ demonstrations.

Under the Kufuor presidency, there was the 2003 protest against rising prices of goods and services led by JJ Rawlings. There was also the ‘Hotel Kufuor’ demonstration and the protest by tertiary students against GETFund capping.

In contemporary times, we have had ‘Occupy Jubilee House’, ‘Dumsor Must Stop’, ‘Let My Vote Count’, ‘yɛ gye yɛ sika’, together with the protest against the election results of 2020, anti-e-levy protests, the protests demanding the removal of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and several others.

In the diaspora, Ghanaians have on several occasions protested on the streets against issues back home.

Reflections

Public protests and demonstrations have come to stay as an integral part of our national life, no matter what one thinks of a particular cause that has given birth to a protest.

Of course, it would be understandable to be mildly irritated, for instance if one’s journey is inconvenienced by ‘eye-red’ placard-waving, whistle-blowing protestors, with red attire to match, as if that is our constitutionally prescribed uniform for demonstrations. But that is a small price to pay for the greater fundamental right of us all.

Under both NDC and New Patriotic Party (NPP) in government, elements in the ruling party have often mocked the opposition protests as ‘health walks’ or as sparsely populated and therefore lacking in popular support. However, that can be shrugged off as regular political banter and therefore discounted.

When a society suppresses the right to protest, it inevitably leads to a bottling of resentment and grievances, which can erupt unexpectedly, as it invariably does with adverse consequences.

It is much more sensible, in my view, to ensure that citizens have the right and opportunity to ‘let off steam’ by getting things off their chest as and when they please, and protests are part of that safety valve.

I must readily admit that I am no veteran of public demonstrations, having only attended two in my adult life – ‘Occupy Jubilee House’ in 2014 and ‘Dumsor Must Stop‘ about a year later.

A few of my friends from either side of the political divide have, however, regaled me with their ‘war stories’ from the frontline of hardcore political protests, some with a few physical scars to show for their battles. I envy them.

Perhaps, I really should step up my game and find a cause to up my ‘a luta’ credentials, even if it is a one-man protest under the sun outside my house against the price of beer.

After all, it is my constitutional right, non? ‘A luta continua!’