Five Ghanaians are in police grips, since August this year, and have since made an appearance in court where they were charged with “planning to overthrow the government and destabilizing the peace.”
The arrest took place on August 14, 2023, and was related to a protest organized by a pro-Russian outfit led by one Michael Asiedu, the administrator of Mikado News, a Facebook blog with 1.5K followers that publishes pro-Russian content.
A detailed report by GhanaFact said he was arrested along with four others “by the Ghana Police Service for wearing shirts with Wagner inscriptions.”
The report added that their investigations pointed to the fact that the said protest happened on August 13, 2023, at Diabene Park in Takoradi, the capital of the Western Region of Ghana.
“In attendance at the rally were young people with some holding placards with various inscriptions, including – “Biden is a warmonger” and “Long live Russia,” and flags of Ghana, Russia, Niger, Mali and Algeria,” the report stated.
Four days later, on August 18, 2023, Michael Asiedu and the four others were granted bail and scheduled to appear in court on October 3, 2023.
The GhanaFact report points to the work of Asiedu and others in pushing a pro-Russia view as part of a shadowy campaign believed to be in the wider interest of Russian mercenary group, Wagner.
The GhanaFact report as produced below extensively covered areas like their shadowy online campaigns and funding methods used towards mobilization for the August protest.
