Traders to be taken to court for unlawful demonstration

Leaders of the Kantamanto Traders Union Association (KTUA) are to be prosecuted for the Association's unlawful demonstration on Monday and disturbance of public peace and order, a senior police officer said.

Mr Samuel Seme Wodah, Commander of the Accra Central Division of the Police Service, said six of the leaders would answer charges against them on behalf of the traders.

Mr Wodah said the traders embarked on the demonstration without police permit, describing their action as unlawful and illegal.

He said the demonstrators, numbering about 200, destroyed a fence wall erected by the Ghana Railway Corporation (GRC) preventing them from entering the premises.

The police addressed the demonstrators and six of their leaders who were held liable were sent to the commander's office where they were charged with the offence.

The demonstrators held placards, some of which read: "We need a market to sell", "We need peace", "We can't feed our children".

They marched to the premises of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Transport and Communication and then to the Ministries Police Station.

A demonstrator told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the gates to the railway yard where their wares and goods were kept had been locked making it impossible for them to sell or collect the goods.

She alleged that they were not served with notice to vacate the yard.