By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, Sept 12, GNA – Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akufo Dampare, Tuesday said he does not visit former President John Dramani Mahama.
In his public hearing appearance before a Committee in Parliament, Dr Dampare explained the role of a police officer in providing services to the citizens, clarifying that former President Mahama was a part of the Ghanaian populace to whom he would willingly offer service if necessary.
A Commissioner of Police, Mr George Alex Asare, who had been cited for his alleged involvement in an alleged leaked tape plotting the removal of Dr Dampare while being interrogated by Parliament’s Committee probing the secret recording alleged that secret meetings had been occurring between Mr Mahama and the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Yet, when questioned before the Committee, on Tuesday, Dr Dampare said: “I don’t visit former President John Dramani Mahama, and he doesn’t visit me. I am a professional police officer, we are servants of the people, including the former president. Whoever is involved, as long as there is a police service to be provided, I have a constitutional duty and responsibility to get it done.”
Dr Dampare also rejected allegations that he had engaged in secret dealings with Mr Mahama, criticizing such allegations as falsehoods.
He, therefore, affirmed his commitment to carrying out his duties without bias or prejudice, stating, “I am a policeman who is not into politics. I am not into politics, I am a professional police officer, and I do not do such things,” he said.
Parliament’s seven-member bi-partisan Committee chaired by Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South with Mr James Agalga, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Builsa North as the Vice-Chairman is investigating the veracity of an alleged leaked audio plotting the removal of Dr Dampare.
On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, a leaked audio recording, allegedly involving a Police Commissioner and a politician discussing a plot to remove IGP Dr Dampare from office circulated.
Consequently, the Minority Caucus in Parliament called for a probe into the leaked tape.
Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament therefore constituted the seven-member bi-partisan Committee to authenticate the audio and probe into the secret recording of an alleged plot to remove Dr Dampare, IGP from office ahead of the 2024 general election on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
The Committee was, therefore, charged to report back to the House on September 10, 2023, but that had not been successful due to the ongoing investigation.
The Committee is made up of three members each from the Majority and Minority sides of Parliament, and a technical person.
Among the members are Mr Patrick Yaw Boamah, NPP MP for Okaikwei Central; Madam Ophelia Mensah, NPP MP for Mfantseman; Mr Eric Opoku, NDC MP for Asunafo South and Mr Peter Lanchene Tuobu, NDC MP for Wa West as members of the Committee.
While Dr Isaac Lartey Annang, a lawyer and a human rights activist, is a technical person appointed by Mr Bagbin.
When questioned about the appropriateness of an IGP interacting with the former president, Dr Dampare explained, “The position of Inspector General of Police, and by extension, every police officer is to serve the good people of this country, of which the former president is one of those. And there is nothing wrong with that,” he said.
GNA