Tear gas mar "Arise Ghana" protest: 12 Policemen injured, 29 protesters arrested

The Ghanaian police arrested 29 people on Tuesday after dispersing a violent anti-expense protest in Accra with tear gas, according to a new report.

Hundreds of demonstrators had been marching in the streets of the capital since the morning, holding up placards reading "Mr President, where did we go wrong? and "The high cost of living will kill us".

In the middle of the afternoon, about 100 demonstrators tried to deviate from the official route of the demonstration, AFP journalists noted.

They were stopped by a blockade of dozens of police officers, on whom they threw projectiles. The police responded by using tear gas to disperse the crowd, AFP journalists observed.

"What a shame, we were there to protect you and ensure your safety, but you throw stones at us," the police wrote on Twitter, saying 12 officers were injured.

It later confirmed the arrest of 29 protesters and said that "the organisers of the protest will be arrested and brought before a court of law for attacking and damaging public property".

For several months, many Ghanaians have been protesting against the increasing price of food and fuel, putting pressure on President Nana Akufo-Addo.

The coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have pushed inflation to more than 27% this month, the highest level in nearly two decades in the West African country.

"We are suffering," Baba Musah, a mobile phone repairman who joined the protest, told AFP.

"We can't afford three meals a day. The prices of transport and food are too high," he lamented.

Many opposition figures were present at the demonstration organised by the lobby group Arise Ghana.