Black Lives Matter Leader Arrested in Ghana

The death of George Floyd in the US two weeks ago has galvanised protests against systematic racism and police brutality around the world.

In Ghana this weekend, more than 60 protestors took to the streets in the capital, Accra to campaign for an end to police violence in the country.

Demonstrators held signs which bore images of George Floyd and the slogans "Africa Must Unite", "Black Lives Matter", "Police Brutality = Colonial Violence", and "Justice for George".

The organiser of the demonstration, Ernesto Yeboah was arrested that evening by state police for failing to obtain a permit to protest publicly and for breaking lockdown rules against large gatherings. The crowd was dispersed after police fired warning shots.

It is suspected that the rally was broken up by the police for the vehement criticism it posed against state-sponsored violence, which the Ghanaian security forces have been accused of enacting over the years.

Mr Yeboah is the head of the Economic Fighters League, which claims that some 20 people died in Ghana from police brutality in 2018.

Protestors held signs remembering the Taadi girls, who were three Ghanaian children abducted and declared dead by the police in 2018. There has never been an independent inquest into their deaths.

A further ten people have been arrested in the country for protesting since coronavirus lockdown restrictions began at the end of March.

Photo:AFP