A detained Ghanaian activist who was the main organizer of the recent protest against illegal mining has been denied bail along with 11 others despite being seriously ill.
Oliver Barker Vormawor appeared in court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including unlawful assembly and assault on a public official.
Mr Vormawor will be held in police custody for two weeks and will then appear in court. He was treated at the police hospital for an unknown illness.
The Cambridge-educated activist organized the three-day protest to take action against illegal mining, known locally as ‘galamsey’, which is accused of polluting 60% of Ghana’s waters.
Some analysts have said that if the practice is not curbed, the country could import water by 2030.
Last weekend the group, calling itself Democracy Hub, clashed with police in the capital Accra, leading to several arrests.
Police accused the protesters of blocking roads, dismantling police barriers and obstructing traffic in the city.
There were reports that a pregnant woman named Vera Lamptey was among those arrested and is in police detention. But the police have denied this.
Many in Ghana have condemned the police, including opposition leader and presidential candidate John Mahama, who denounced their heavy-handedness, describing it as an abuse of citizens’ right to protest.
Ghana is the largest gold producer in Africa, but has struggled with illegal mining in recent years.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has ordered the deployment of police and military to tackle illegal miners. A similar approach was taken in 2017, but it did not solve the problem.
The country will elect a new president on December 7, with Akufo-Addo stepping down after two terms in office.
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