The Ghanaian artist KiDi has made a statement regarding his involvement in offering legal assistance to those detained during the #OccupyJulorbiHouse movement.
In a statement to the BBC, KiDi stressed the value of being a good citizen and the freedom for individuals to voice their concerns in a peaceful manner.
KiDi emphasized the value of citizens’ voices and their capacity to peacefully demonstrate for their rights, and when he learned that some protestors had been detained, he was moved to intervene and lend his support.
“In times like this, you are a citizen before anything else. People should have the right to voice their concerns peacefully at any point in time. If I see that people left their houses to let the government hear them and end up like that, I felt like I definitely had to do something to get them out of that situation,” he said.
Speaking on the effects of the nation’s economic problems, KiDi pointed out that the issue is pervasive and has an impact on all facets of society. Furthermore, before the entertainment industry and other industries could prosper, these fundamental problems needed to be resolved.
“It’s across board; there’s stuff obviously happening on the ground, and it’s like a domino effect. One part of the system is broken, and it goes ahead to affect so many systems and the entire ecosystem. If people are not fed well, if people are not happy, if people are not okay, they don’t think of entertainment,” KiDi explained.
A social media campaign known as #OccupyJulorbiHouse was established to protest the government’s poor economic management and infrastructural neglect. It culminated in a three-day demonstration, which had its first day marred by claims of brutality. Without incident, the second and third days saw a number of celebrities join the demonstration.
