According to a ruling by the Accra High Court, the pressure group Arise Ghana may only demonstrate between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm.
The protest was also ordered to start at the Obra Spot in Accra and terminate at Independence Square by the court.
In a case brought by the Ghana Police Service, the court reached this conclusion.
To stop the two-day demonstration that was scheduled to start on Tuesday, the Service filed the lawsuit.
This came about after it was claimed in a statement that the organization Arise Ghana had refused to start and halt the protest before dusk.
However, the group asserts that it came to a deal with the Police and is consequently shocked by the change of events.
DSP Sylvester Asare requested an adjournment of the case on Monday since the Police Service had not yet received the protestors’ documentation.
He requested a two-day postponement.
However, the protestors’ attorney, Godwin Tameklo, accused the police of acting in bad faith and noted that the protest was scheduled for Tuesday.
According to him, the protest would effectively be put on hold if the court granted an adjournment. He proceeded by saying that the group had informed the Police about the rally as early as June 2.
In order to give the Police time to review the documents, the court, presided over by Justice Comfort Tasiame, postponed the hearings until 11:30am.
On Monday at 11:30 a.m., DSP Asare once more requested a break.
He explained that additional time was required for the Police to review the materials.
Mr. Tameklo argued that granting this request would give the Police more power to utilize similar procedures to thwart the rights of citizens to protest. He urged the court to reject the application.
After rejecting the police’s plea, Justice Comfort Tasiame instructed the Service’s attorneys to provide justification for why the demonstration should be put to an end.
The proposed timetables put up by the protestors have the potential to impair efficient policing, DSP Asare later informed the court.
He clarified that the Police had made their request for a restraining order based on this justification.
Godwin Tameklo, an attorney for Arise Ghana, disagreed.
He emphasized that the legislation does not grant the Police the authority to decide when a protest should take place.
He once more charged that the Police were acting in bad faith and violating their agreement with the group. According to him, the protest’s organizers had originally planned to hold it nonstop for 48 hours but eventually agreed to cease it at 3 and 5 p.m. on the first and second days, respectively.
By defining the aforementioned deadlines and routes, the Court, presided over by Justice Tasiame, agreed to partially grant the Police’s motion.