NDC National Organiser’s claim on use of guns during demo false

On Day 2 of the Arise Ghana demonstration, the National Organiser of the NDC, Joshua Akamba, said no law prevents him from carrying a licensed weapon for his protection during a demonstration.

He said this when the police attempted to take a weapon he was keeping during the demonstration.

In a 1:42-seconds video posted on the Daily Graphic Facebook page, he challenged the Ghana Police Service to quote a law that prevented him from carrying a weapon during a demonstration.

CLAIM: “I feel that my life is not safe and I have to protect myself. …Please, I asked the police, ‘Can you show me the law that says that I cannot carry a weapon around where I am’? They said no, there is no law like that. There is actually no law like that.”

Verdict: Completely False

Explanation: Section 206 (2) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act (29) states, “A person who, without lawful authority, the proof of which lies on that person, has in a public place an offensive weapon commits a misdemeanour.”

The Act continues to explain in subsection (3) (b)that an offensive weapon is any weapon made to cause harm.

Also, Section 7 (1) of the Arms and Ammunitions Act 1972, under the “Control of Public Display of Arms or Ammunition,” states that “No person shall, except in accordance with the terms of a permit granted under this Decree or with the written consent of the Inspector-General of Police, publicly display any arms or ammunition (including explosives) or discharge any firearm or other weapon in any public place”

Fact-Check Ghana also interviewed lawyer Martin Kpebu for his view on the matter. Mr Kpebu described the carrying of a weapon during a demonstration as “so wrong”. He said, in such instances, one can always look at the Criminal Offences Act 29 to draw conclusions, referring to some of the aforementioned sections in this report.

This suggests that Joshua Akamba’s claim that there are no laws that bar one from carrying a weapon during a demonstration is actually false.

Meanwhile, the police have so far arrested one person who was allegedly carrying a pistol during the demonstration.