‘‘Order from above’’ keeps Ghanaian protesters away from legal representation

According to relatives, police claim that the restrictions are due to an "order from above."

"When you go to the police station where your relative is detained, they tell you ‘order from above’ says no one is entitled to speak to them," Franklin Ansah, whose friends are in custody, told Global South World. 

Ansah visited multiple police stations, including Dansoman and Shukura, only to be repeatedly told that access was restricted by higher authority.

The detainees, who were protesting the environmental devastation caused by illegal mining activities, commonly referred to as "galamsey," have also been denied food and water. 

Edwin Yakah, another relative of a detained protestor, stated, "They don’t even give them airtime or phones to call their relatives or lawyers. Lawyers were by the roadside waiting for hints about where their clients had been taken."

Public outrage grew as Ghanaians took to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to criticise the police for their treatment of the protestors. Many expressed concerns over the lack of transparency and violation of legal rights in the name of an “order from above.”

A medical doctor with the handle, @JeffWells posted "Actual lawyers are moving from police station to police station to get innocent citizens out of jail and they’re being told, with no shame, by the police that there are “orders from above” to keep the innocent people in jail."

Among the 39 people arrested are a pregnant woman, a minor, a diabetic patient and a lawyer, all of whom have been denied bail. 

Their cases, along with others, have been adjourned until October 8 and 11.