Seven police officers from the Tema Regional Police Command were injured during the demonstration by the angry residents of Kpone in Greater Accra Region on Tuesday.
Despite reports that over a dozen of the demonstrators sustained gunshot wounds from the rubber bullets which were shot into the angry crowd, the Police says it is unable to confirm the exact number of injured persons.
[contextly_sidebar id=”YlPApVQbW371eD0WgDd2NUr3ITzMihg9″]”The figures, I am sorry I am confirm but what I can confirm is that several of our men of got wounded during the demonstration today…We are unable to produce the figures because our men are still on the ground and investigations are still underway and at the appropriate time, the correct figures will be sent out,” the Public Relations Officer of the Tema Regional Police Command, ASP Juliana Obeng said on Eyewitness News.
Hundreds of angry youth in Kpone threatened to burn down the Asogli power plant because according to them, they have in no way benefited.
They also demanded the dismissal of some persons from the Traditional Council of the area for their involvement in the indiscriminate sale of land which was affecting their livelihood.
The Police say the demonstration got out of hand which forced them to disperse the crowd by firing rubber bullets and tear gas which left some injured .
ASP Obeng on Eyewitness News confirmed that there were indeed, attempts by the demonstrators to burn down the Asogli power plant when the demonstration got out of control.
Listing the number of factors which caused the demonstration to turn chaotic, ASP Obeng stated that the route that the demonstrators gave to the Police was not adhered to.
Also, although the demonstrators promised that the protest will be peaceful, “they came through with cutlasses and other offensive weapons that could cause damage not to only properties but to lives as well.”
She narrated that the Police refused to allow the angry crowd to approach the Kpone Traditional Council to present their petition due to the offensive weapons they were carrying and their demands for some members of the Traditional Council to be removed.
“We therefore barricaded the area for them to stand behind it and present their petition but that they didn’t understand and that was the time they decided to throw stones and other offensive weapons at the Police,” she said.
ASP Obeng defended the use of tear gas and the rubber bullets by the Police saying, “it was not to offend or hurt anybody. It was to make sure we had the crowd under control.”
She gave the assurance that “Kpone is very calm, we have our men placed at specific points at Asogli and the Kpone Traditional Council and the Kpone township as well. We also have adequate men on standby at the Kpone District Police headquarters and the Tema Regional Command just in case any ugly situation rears its head again.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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