Members of 'Justice for Ghana' refused to present their petition to the leadership of Parliament at the entrance on Wednesday.

According to the group, in a letter to inform the Police of their intention to organize the protest, they indicated that their petition to the leadership of Parliament will be presented at the forecourt, hence their refusal to present it at the gate.

However, the Police on Tuesday, December 7, secured an injunction from the High Court to prevent the protesters from occupying the forecourt of Parliament.

In a statement, the Police said the decision was necessary to safeguard the security and public health of MPs, the general public and the demonstrators.

The group was therefore prevented by the Police from entering the premises of Parliament when they got to the main gate.

The leadership of the House, made up of Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin and Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Majority Chief Whip, subsequently came out of the premises of Parliament to meet the protesters at the gate to receive their petition.

The group, however, objected to presenting the petition there. They insisted that they should be allowed to present the petition on the forecourt of Parliament as indicated in their letter to the Police.

This made the leadership of the House retreat into the Chamber to continue with the business of the House due to the disagreement on where the petition would be presented.

Convener of Justice for Ghana, Bernard Monarh said the act by the Police is an affront to their dignity as citizens.

According to him, they can only present their petition if the Police allowed them entry into the forecourt of Parliament.

“We want to go to the forecourt of Parliament to present our petition. Why have you not asked the Police why they have decided to do what they are doing here?  Our rights are being trampled upon, our rights to meet our leadership is not granted.

We are Ghanaians, we are Africans and we deserve dignity. We did not achieve independence on a silver platter and as for e-levy independence, we will get it,” he said.

According to the group, the protest dubbed “YENTUMI AHOKYER3” is in reaction to the general harsh economic environment in the country and the e-levy contained in the 2022 budget.