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.
Various public commentators – from the media to politicians – attributed the mass defiance of the restrictions to indiscipline. Some even applauded the police for treating “offenders” harshly. This way of seeing “wrong” behaviour, whether it’s bad driving or poor academic performance among students, has become widespread in Ghana. The behaviour is put down to individuals’ bad attitudes, irresponsibility and stubborn defiance.
