Defying Ghana’s lockdown rules wasn’t simply stubborn: here’s what was going on
GHANA imposed lockdowns in the Accra and Kumasi districts on 30 March 2020 to limit community transmission of the new coronavirus. But members of the public found ways to evade the restrictions, making them ineffective. People went about their daily lives as usual, where they could, and avoided checkpoints. Police were sometimes seen humiliating or violently handling people they caught breaking the rules. Eventually, the government suspended the restrictions. Author FESTIVAL GODWIN BOATENG, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Various public commentators – from the media to politicians – attributed the mass defiance…