The convenor of the ‘StopGalamseyNow’ protest, Oliver Mawuse Barker Vormawor, alongside 11 other protesters, has been remanded into custody until October 8.
This brings the total number of remanded protesters to 52, sparking widespread public outcry.
Heavy police presence filled the Accra Circuit Court as the accused, all in handcuffs, made their appearance.
Barker Vormawor, still recovering after collapsing in police custody earlier in the week, was escorted by officers from the police hospital directly to the courtroom.
Defense lawyers argue that the protesters have suffered inhumane treatment, including denial of food, water, and basic hygiene during their initial detention. And, despite their bail plea, the judge, Kwabena Obiri Yeboah ruled to keep the group in custody, with a court date set for October 8, 2024.
“Why do you think the Supreme Court made the non-bailable decision? It’s because of this same kind of abuse. Am telling you that what I witnessed in court, there was no need for a remand,” Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner said.
This decision to remand a total of 52 protesters has drawn strong public condemnation.
“Assuming that yes indeed they perpetrated the crime, I don’t think it’s that grievous to demand such treatment,” Adib Sani, security analyst explained.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Francis Xavier Sosu and Ghanaian Member of Parliament MP is preparing to file lawsuits against the Ghana Police Service and the state, in both Ghana and the ECOWAS Court.
“If the water bodies are destroyed, we are all destroyed. And so, it shouldn’t be one person’s fight and that is why even as a lawyer, I rallied my legal team. We are acting for and on behalf of everybody that has an issue in this matter, and we are going to ensure that we continue until we seek justice for every individual,” Sosu said.
Psychologists have also raised concerns over the psychological toll of the arrests and detentions.
The defense lawyers have expressed their intention and readiness to appeal the Circuit Court’s decision in the High Court.
Galamsey, derived from the phrase “gather them and sell”, is a local Ghanaian term which means illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana. Such workers are known as galamseyers or orpailleurs in neighboring Francophone nations. Galamseyers are people who perform illegal gold mining independent of mining companies, digging small working pits, tunnels, and sluices by hand. Galamsey is also referred to as Illegal Artisanal Small-Scale Mining (ASM).
Generally, the galamseyers can dig only to a limited depth, far shallower and smaller than commercial mining companies. Under current Ghanaian law, it is illegal for galamseyers to dig on land granted to mining companies as concessions or licenses. Most galamseyers find gold in free metallic dust form or they process oxide or sulphide gold ore using liquid mercury.
The number of galamseyers in Ghana is unknown but believed to be from 20,000 to 50,000, including thousands from China. The Information Minister recently claimed there are now 200,000 people engaged in galamsey, and according to other sources, there are nearly 3 million who rely on it for their livelihoods. They mostly operate in the southern part of Ghana where there are substantial reserves of gold deposits, usually within the environs of the larger mining companies. As a group, they are economically disadvantaged. Galamsey settlements are usually poorer than neighboring agricultural villages. They have high rates of accidents and are exposed to mercury poisoning from their crude processing methods. Many women are among the workers, acting mostly as porters for the miners.
Last week, hundreds of volunteers from A Rocha Ghana, a conservation organization took to the streets to press the government to take action against illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
The protesters, who held placards with messages demanding the government to act, scattered across the capital city, urging the President to take decisive steps to protect the country’s water bodies and forest reserves.
Speaking to Channel One News, the deputy director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, indicated that this is one of a series of activities aimed at putting pressure on the government and stakeholders to act to save the country’s water bodies and forest reserves.
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Additional Sources: ChannelOne TV, Citi News, Myjoyonline, AfricaNews
