A high court in Ghana has ruled that the planned hardship protest by civil society groups cannot proceed. High Court Justice Abena Afia Serwaa granted a request from the Ghanaian police to ban protests between July 31 and August 6, citing their inability to provide adequate security for the demonstrators.
The police explained that their personnel are currently deployed for political rallies and election campaigns, which limits their capacity to ensure the safety of protesters, as reported by The Straight Times.
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Protest organizer Mensah Thompson argued that citizens have a fundamental right to protest and that elections should not be used as an excuse to block such rights. He warned that if the authorities do not approve the protest, young people might take to the streets spontaneously, potentially leading to unrest similar to that experienced in Kenya.
Ghana is grappling with high inflation, a fiscal crisis, currency depreciation, and a foreign exchange crisis. In April 2024, the country failed to secure a workable debt deal with two bondholder groups as part of its efforts to restructure $13 billion of international bonds.
