Lead convener of pressure group Democracy Hub, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has announced that Wendell Yeboah, the group’s Head of Mobilization, has been arrested by the Ghana Police Service.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Barker-Vormawor stated that Yeboah was picked up by officers from Police Headquarters and is currently in detention.
According to the post, police informed Yeboah that he is being held “on the orders of Government” for publicly accusing government appointees of involvement in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The arrest follows recent public statements by Yeboah in which he levelled allegations of galamsey activities against certain regional ministers and other senior government officials.
Democracy Hub has been at the forefront of anti-galamsey protests in recent months, organising major demonstrations in Accra that led to the arrest of dozens of activists, including Barker-Vormawor himself.
Following his public allegations against some regional ministers – namely Dr Frank Amoakohene (Ashanti Regional Minister), Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey (Eastern Regional Minister), and Joseph Nelson (Western Regional Minister) – Wendell Yeboah and Aluta FM issued separate apologies and retractions for the allegations.
In a related development, Democracy Hub also issued a statement dissociating itself from the claims made by its Head of Mobilization.