IGP’s 15 questions to British High Commissioner

• Posted on June 1, 2022June 1, 2022
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare has provided fifteen questions to the British High Commissioner to ponder over to help her appreciate the efforts being made by the Police Service to ensure that Ghana remains a peaceful country.

The questions were contained in a letter dated May 20, 2022 and addressed to the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson, over her tweet following the arrest of one of the conveners of the #FixTheCountry movement, Oliver Barker Vormawor over a traffic offence.

Madam Thomson in her tweet wrote, “Oliver Barker Vormawor, convener of #FixTheCountry movement, arrested again, I understand for a motoring offence on his way to court. I’ll be interested to see where this goes…”.

In the four-page letter which addressed the two circumstances under which Mr Barker-Vormawor was arrested, Dr Dampare sought to find out whether the High Commissioner was concerned about the law enforcement process in Ghana.

He also recalled occasions where in Britain, people were branded as terrorists, arrested and prosecuted for making pronouncements that were considered as national security threats and asked if she was of the opinion that Ghanaians deserve a peaceful country.

“Maybe reflecting on these questions will help you appreciate our position on such matters,” he added.

Below are the fifteen questions

Do you not think we the Ghanaian people also deserve a peaceful country? Maybe reflecting on these questions will help you appreciate our position on such matters:

1. Are there instances in your country where people are permitted to openly threaten the security of the state with a coup?
2. In instances where individuals have threatened the security of a state, does your criminal justice system celebrate such persons and urge them on to destabilise your country?
3. As a Foreign Service officer, even though you might not have personal experience, you doubtless have access to the records of the periods of unrest and coups in Ghana; are you really wishing on us, a return to those times?
4. Are you able to direct us to instances in your country where citizens are permitted to insult, attack and incite your Army and other security apparatuses to destabilize the Country?
5. Do people get arrested for traffic offences in your country?
6. Is it the case that a person on his/her way to a British court cannot be pulled over for traffic offences or any other offences for that matter?
7. Are you still persuaded, three days after your Tweet, that you were within the bounds of the Vienna Convention which regulates the conduct of diplomats in the countries in which they serve?
8. Should you get involved in the domestic/internal affairs, especially security issues of the sovereign state in which you are serving as a diplomat?
9. Do you know of any instances where Ghanaian diplomats in Britain have involved themselves in your internal affairs?
10. Is there any particular reason why of all the people arrested daily for various offences in Ghana, you are especially interested in this person’s case?
11. Is it the case that you don’t have confidence in our justice delivery, criminal justice system and our court processes as a whole?
12. Do you know the number of Members of Parliament, Chief Executives and other high-profile Ghanaians who have been arrested and prosecuted for road traffic offences and have submitted themselves to due process? If you care to know, we will be delighted to share the list with you.
13. Have the legally and internationally accepted limits associated with freedom of speech and association been stretched to the point where people can now say and act without regard to the sanctity, security and the very survival of a country? When it comes to such matters, are there any limits in place in your country?
14. Are you interested in the number of lives lost to road accidents and the number of injured persons, as well as families who have become destitute as a result of such accidents, caused by the infractions of people like the person of interest to you?
15. Have you taken note of the innovations being introduced by the Ghana Police Service in recent times to deepen discipline, law and order, as well as protect lives and property in this country? Are you interested that we are doing our best to get it right?