Continuously since some 39 persons believed to have been protesters who joined the Democracy Hub’s three-day #ReOccupyJulorbiHouse and #StopGalamsey demonstration at the end of September, many stories have emerged about those in detention.
From stories that have been shared online and which have prompted responses from the Ghana Police Service, to claims that the protesters are being subjected to inhumane treatments, it makes the conversations even more disturbing.
GhanaWeb, by these stories, will bring to its readers some of the stories that have been heard about the persons caught in the middle of these arrests, and share details of what many have termed as innocent people who were also bundled together with the real protesters.
In this episode of ‘Faces, Stories of #DemocracyHub Protesters,’ we focus on the story of Emmanuel Djan.
That name may is obviously not as popular as some others also in detention, but his story evokes a lot of emotions.
From several accounts online, most of which point to similar narratives, Djan was not a part of the protests that mostly happened over the three days, around the 37 Military Hospital.
Admittedly, he was around the same location, but on a separate mission, far from being on the streets in protest because he had a wife who had just put to birth to attend to.
The new father might never have been caught up in all of these had he enough money on him to pay for his wife’s hospital bills. But no, he didn’t and so he acted with speed, stepping out of the 37 Military Hospital compound to the adjourning 37 Lorry Station to get his dead phone powered up again.
With that, he hoped that he could place a few calls to some friends or family members to see how lucky he gets.
His hopes turned into a nightmarish experience when he was approached by some uniformed policemen on duty at the ongoing protest and placed him under arrest.
Confused and in disbelief, he tried to make the police understand that he was not who they thought he was, even to the point where he tried convincing the police to go with him to the hospital to confirm or not if his wife was not on admission.
Felicity Nelson, one of the people who were arrested with him, described what she saw about the arrest of Emmanuel Djan as follow:
“When I was arrested by the police, there was man who was also arrested. This man’s wife has just given birth at 37 Military Hospital and he had been given a bill of 2400, he only had 1600 on his person so he stepped out to charge his phone at the 37 trotro station to see if he could ask some friends/family for the rest of the money to top up so his wife can be discharged.
“Whilst waiting for his phone to charge, he came to buy some coconuts from a vendor near me. Whilst I was being arrested, he was also arrested. When we were all rounded up, he pleaded that two police officers follow him into the hospital to confirm that his wife was actually on admission. All his pleas fell on deaf ears, he was also bundled into the police van. He was also remanded until the 8th of October. This could have happened to anyone. Is this just? What kind of country are we living in? He was begging to call his wife to let her know that he had been arrested. His request was denied.”
All those arrested and arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court were denied bail and have been placed in separate detention centers for a period of 2 weeks.
They are to reappear in court on October 8, 2024.
See a photo of Emmanuel Gyan and a receipt confirmation of his wife’s bill below:
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
