Some residents in Kpone in the Greater Accra Region are threatening to force the Police personnel who have been deployed to maintain calm in the area to leave.
They are alleging that the Police personnel instead of protecting them are rather bullying them after their peaceful demonstration turned violent.
The Police were deployed to area to maintain law and order after the demonstration on Tuesday.
[contextly_sidebar id=”zAn0U2KU0p3wtxP38c5FGdtEDg30St4D”]The youth in Kpone on Tuesday took to the streets with machetes and sticks threatening to burn down the Asogli power plant claiming they were not benefiting from the power plant.
They also threatened to remove some members of the Kpone Traditional Council for the indiscriminate sale of lands which was affecting their livelihoods.
The Police personnel fired rubber bullets and tear gas disperse the demonstrating crowd who had began destroying properties.
Over a dozen persons were injured including seven Police officers.
According to the Tema Regional Police Command Spokesperson, ASP Julian Obeng, defended the Police action saying, the demonstrators failed to use the agreed route and also got rowdy after they were barricaded from entering the Kpone Traditional Council to present their petition.
Citi News’ Tema Correspondent, Elvis Washington who visited the area a day after the demonstration reported that the youth were still angry and were planning a confrontation with the Police.
One of the leaders of the Kpone youth who spoke to Citi News on condition of anonymity said: “We want them to leave here; we don’t want them to come here. We don’t like confusion and we don’t want any Policeman to come here because yesterday [Tuesday], they wanted to shoot us.”
One of the youth leaders told Citi News, The Police are here not to protect us, we are protected already so we don’t need any Police protection.
He claimed that the Police personnel who are on patrol “are even fighting us and we are ready to fight them. We don’t need any protection at the moment.”
He insisted that since they are natives of Kpone, they need their freedom to fight their won battles because they have been deprived of development for a long time.
“No one is coming to fight for us. We know what is good for us and that is what we are going to do. We are natives of this town, we are not strangers, and we are from Kpone,” he fumed.
Click to listen to the Kpone youth in an interview with Citi News’ Elvis Washington
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By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan