IGP faces accusers in-camera today

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, will meet his accusers today when he appears before the parliamentary committee probing the purported plot to remove him from office.

The police chief has been summoned by the committee to respond to the various allegations levelled against him by two senior police officers — the Director-General in charge of Technical, COP George Alex Mensah, and Superintendent George Asare.

However, the expected fireworks will be held in-camera due to the implications it could have on national security.

It will also enable the fact-finding committee to hear the IGP’s side of the story on the issues captured on the leaked tape as it prepares to conclude its work.

The Chairman of the committee, Samuel Atta Akyea, who made this known when he spoke to an Accra-based television station last Sunday, said the IGP would have the opportunity to ask his accusers questions based on the allegations made against him.

He disclosed further that all the witnesses who had already testified before the committee — Chief Bugri Naabu, COP Mensah, Supt. Asare and Supt. Emmanuel Gyebi — would reappear before the committee with their lawyers.

“The most prominent person whose name is being bandied about — the IGP himself — will appear with his lawyer too today.

“We have sent invitation to all those who matter; we have given them all the videos which we have transcribed on paper, as well as all the proceedings captured so far so that they will know who said what,” he said.

Defence  

Mr Atta Akyea explained that the IGP’s appearance was needed since “grave allegations of serious consequences” had been made against him.

“I kept telling people that the committee is not a forum to appoint an IGP and we do not have malice aforethought against the IGP whose destruction is of no benefit to the committee.

“But we will not sit down for the IGP to be disgraced and insulted without giving him a hearing,” he said.

He said giving the IGP the opportunity to “hallow his name” would serve the interest of democracy.

He, however, pointed out that if it became necessary to let the IGP speak to the cameras publicly, the committee would allow that.

“Some allegations have been made in public but the substance of the allegations has not been made in public.

“That is to say the evidential support for those allegations is what we are going to unearth and we will exercise the discretion of which piece of evidence that we should not give to the public,” he explained.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Abuakwa South expressed the hope that the IGP would not show disrespect to the Constitution and turn down the committee’s invitation when he had a “whole opportunity” to clear his name.

 Interdiction

Mr Atta Akyea, however, described the interdiction of COP Mensah, Supt Asare and Supt. Gyebi by the Police Administration as an “affront to democracy”.

He said whoever took that decision might have realised they made a serious mistake following the public uproar against it.

“I am glad they saw how serious the interdiction, vis-a-vis the committee’s work, was and decided to suspend it which is good for everybody,” he said.

Suspension of the interdiction, he added, would give the witnesses the liberty to testify.

Cross-examination

At the last sitting of the committee over a week ago, Mr Atta Akyea told the media after a three-hour grilling of Supt. Asare that the committee had received another secret tape.

“Now, we have the benefit of a tape on the assumption that it is authentic and the members of the committee will have to internalise that tape.

“It will be transcribed and we will look at it to do proper analysis and that will inform us about what to do,” he said.