Parliament’s ad-hoc committee, probing a leaked tape on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, has ordered the National Security Minister, to appear before it today, Wednesday, September 13, 2023 for further investigations.
National Security insiders tell The Herald that, Albert Kan-Dapaah, is being asked to submit the report of a probe carried out by the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) into the leaked tape involving the two senior officers; COP George Alex Mensah and Superintendent George Asare, who had alleged that Dr Dampare, has been having meetings with ex-President John Mahama to ensure that he is retained when Mahama comes to power.
This comes after the IGP and the three senior police officers, implicated in the leaked tape appeared before the committee yesterday.
At the end of the proceedings, the Chairman of the committee, Samuel Atta Akyea, said all witnesses must appear with their lawyers on Wednesday for continuation of sittings.
“The witnesses should come back tomorrow with their lawyers. The IGP should come with his lawyers, the Minister of National Security should show up with his lawyers and proceedings will continue,” he stated.
The Herald over a week ago, reported about the NIB investigations into the matter which had the former Northern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Daniel Bugri Naabu and others, including workers in his Osu- office where the recording was done, being questioned by the state intelligence agency.
The Committee’s chairman, The Herald learnt, is seeking some inconsistencies in the accounts of Bugri Naabu vis-à-vis what he told the Parliamentary Committee and what he told the NIB.
Mr Atta Akyea is counting on the National Security Minister to make available the NIB’s confidential report to the committee to help establish the inconsistencies in the account of the NPP stalwart, Bugri Naabu, who has equally been summoned to reappear before the committee today.
At the Committee level, The Herald is informed about disagreements among members on the summons served on Mr Kan-Dapaah as some habour the view that it is not necessary to invite the Security Minister to divulge the content of the NIB report seeking to establish inconsistencies to aid the Parliamentary Committee’s probe.
The disagreement stems from the act that the NIB and Parliament are looking for something different. Whereas the NIB probe was carried out by the executive arm of government, that of Parliament is being done by the legislature and could lead to some reforms being proposed by the House.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, on Tuesday categorically denied any involvement in plotting a secret recording with Bugri Naabu.
The leaked tape probe has garnered substantial public attention over the last few weeks.
Addressing the Parliamentary Committee probing the audio on Tuesday, September 12, the IGP refuted the allegations that he was part of a conspiracy to secretly record conversations of the three implicated police officers – COP Alex Mensah, Superintendent George Asare, and Superintendent Emmanuel Eric Gyebi – and Bugri Naabu.
The IGP emphasized his commitment to upholding the law and maintaining the integrity of the Ghana Police Service. He expressed his willingness to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation, vowing to provide any necessary information or assistance to uncover the truth behind the leaked tape.
At the hearing, the IGP denied allegations that he has been having meetings with former President John Dramani Mahama to secure his position in the event that the former president wins the 2024 elections.
Speaking at the public hearing on the leaked tape of a meeting between senior officers of the police service and the ex-Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, where the allegations were made, Dr Dampare said that there hasn’t been any such meeting.
He added that the claims are part of falsehoods being told about him to make him look bad.
“That is incorrect. Another set of allegations just to make it look like I am a police officer who is doing politics. I’m a professional police officer and I don’t do such things. It is falsehood.
“It is falsehood so they should stop it. They can use any other means to get any other thing that they want but not lying about me in a series manner,” he said.
Asked whether he has ever visited Mahama, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr Dampare said, “Honourable chair, I don’t visit His Excellency the former President,” he said.
“Honourable chair, the former president doesn’t visit me,” he retorted when asked whether Mahama had ever visited him.
In the said leaked tape, the two officers captured in the tape, COP George Alex Mensah and Superintendent George Asare, alleged that IGP Dr Dampare has been having meetings with Mahama to ensure that he is retained when Mahama comes to power.
They indicated that if the IGP is not removed, the ruling New Patriotic Party would lose the 2024 elections to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mahama’s party.
In his opening remarks, the IGP, detailing his life and his rise through the Ghana Police Service, and how he had tried to work diligently with all, including the three police officers caught in the leaked audio, the police chief started getting quite emotional.
Describing the allegations that have been made by, particularly two of the officers: COP George Alex Mensah and Supt George Asare, as unfair, the IGP could be visibly seen with teary eyes.
At a point, and with the cameras zoomed in on his face at that point, it could be seen that the eyes of the IGP had turned red, with some shakiness heard from his voice.
Dr Dampare, denied withholding the promotions of officers who are due for promotion.
Recently, 82 aggrieved police officers sued the Attorney General, the Ghana Police Service, and the IGP for acting unfairly and capriciously with respect to the failure of the Ghana Police Service to promote them.
The police officers claimed that they were due for promotions after the completion of their studies, through the study leave with pay policy, of the service, but they are yet to be promoted several months after the completion of their studies.
However, Dr Dampare refuted these allegations and indicated that the service had promoted all who were due.
“There is no hold up of promotion of any junior officer in the whole police service,” he said.
“Even as we speak, the structure has been that any junior officer who is four years is sent to training and they are promoted. And they are waiting to promote the next set of officers who are due for promotion…So nobody in the service whose promotion is being held. So that is another set of concocted stories which is being put out there for mischievous reasons.”
“So everybody who is supposed to be promoted based on the junior rank has been done and everybody who is supposed to be promoted based on the senior rank have been promoted and that is where we are,” he stated.
