To discharge “my civic responsibility,” popular Sports Journalist Saddick Adams said he joined the #FreeTheCitizens and #SayNoToGalamsey protests.

The protest began from Okponglo, Legon, around 9:15 AM. Participants walked, dressed mostly in red and black, holding their placards, arriving at the Accra (Ohene Gyan) Sports Stadium at around 3 PM.

At Okonglo, Saddick Adams, alias Sports Obama, spoke to Prince Benjamin (PB) of the Voice of America (VOA) urging the country not to politicise the galamsey or illegal mining fight. He made a case, also, that if left unchecked galamsey would destroy the sports economy in the country.

“We should never politicise or get divided over galamsey. It’s a dangerous future, if we do – if it’s not already here. As I citizen, I should be concerned so I walked here to join the protesters and show my displeasure at the reckless abandon with which we are engaging in mining and destroying our waterbodies and forests,” he said.

“Galamsey naturally affects lives, and I don’t think anybody would be interested or excited about sports if they are dying. It is dangerous. You wouldn’t want to choose [place] your career above it,” Adams admonished.

“Sports is a subset of the country’s livelihood but galamsey affects every facet of our lives. So the impact is severe, economically, socially – you cannot quantify the impact.”

The 2018 Ghana Journalism Association (GJA) award winner noted he had “seen with my eyes the devastation galamsey is causing to our once pristine waters and forests. It’s beyond sports”.

Part 1 of the anti-galamsey protest happened during Democracy Hub’s three-day action starting on September 21 – Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day. Fifty-four (54) individuals found on the protest grounds were arrested. This prompted a part 2, led by a group identified as Concerned Citizens Against Galamsey who chanted for the freedom of the said 54 from police and prison custody after arraignment and remand. They also demanded an immediate stop to galamsey which has polluted 16 rivers in Ghana, and destroyed forests and farmlands.