Independent presidential candidate and leader of ‘The New Force,’ Nana Kwame Bediako also known as Cheddar, has stated that the demonstrations by a group calling itself ‘Democracy Hub’ were politically motivated rather than aimed at tackling illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey in the country.
According to him, a certain political party is behind the Democracy Hub protests and all the demonstrations in recent times for electoral gains.
Without mentioning the name of the party, Cheddar insisted that all the protests in the last one or two years were spearheaded by “one of the duopoly,” in an apparent reference to the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that has dominated the political scene together with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) since the beginning of the fourth republic in 1992.
In a video shared on his social media pages, which has gone viral, Cheddar acknowledged that galamsey is a serious issue.
He however argued that the protests were more about advancing political interest of a ‘politician or a political party, rather than addressing the galamsey menace in the country.
Cheddar doubted the commitment of many protesters to the fight against illegal mining, noting that their involvement in previous efforts had been minimal.
He suggested that the focus of the protests appeared to be on attacking political rivals and leveraging the galamsey issue for electoral advantage.
According to him, the demonstrations were carefully timed to shape public opinion ahead of the 2024 general election, making them more about political gain than genuine activism.
Accordingly, Cheddar urged the youth to stay vigilant and avoid being manipulated as pawns for political purposes.
He emphasised the importance of a collective, non-partisan approach to tackling illegal mining, stressing that real progress would only come through collaboration across various sectors rather than political rhetoric.
Politically motivated protests
Cheddar reaffirmed his position against politically driven protests, urging Ghanaians to focus on long-term solutions to galamsey.
“All of these protests and demonstrations that have happened in this country in the past year or two, they are organised by ‘one of the duopoly.’ It is the same politicians that are behind it. I have said and I stand by it. We know that #OccupyJulorbiHouse and #FixTheCountry were formed by one of two major political parties. We cannot do this to ourselves and destroy our own country because of a politician’s personal interest or a party’s interest.
“Please, Ghanaians, do your research, and you will know that the people in front of all demonstrations have treason charges, and you will know who sponsored them for the mobilisations and all the things that happened. Do your research, this is not about galamsey. This is about a political interest.
“Let my use this opportunity to correct this situation right now about my last video that I issued about not supporting violence.
“I still stand on that and I mean that. Now, why don’t I support the youth for protesting, it’s because I want peace in the country.
“If the youth of this country and people of this nation had held it down for 32 years to 40 years of understanding politics, whatever encumbrances, crisis, and the issues that they bring and they managed to survive, then why would they want to use violence now to send a message that they’ve had enough.
“We cannot do this to ourselves and destroy our own country because of a politician’s personal interest or a party’s interest,” he emphasised.
Democracy Hub protests
The protests, held near the 37 Military Hospital Intersection in Accra, resulted in charges of unlawful assembly, conspiracy, and damage to public property.
Following clashes with law enforcement, the police arrested 39 protesters.
Over 50 protesters have so far been arraigned and remanded into both prison and police custody.
