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The Country Director of Amnesty International, Genevieve Partington, has expressed her views on the removal of Dr. George Akuffo Dampare as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), shedding light on the organization’s interactions with the police leadership under his tenure.
President John Dramani Mahama on Friday, March 14, removed Dr George Akuffo Dampare as IGP and replaced him with Commissioner of Police (COP) Christian Tetteh Yohonu. While no official reason has been given for Dr. Akuffo Dampare’s dismissal, sources suggest the move is part of a broader restructuring effort within the Ghana Police Service.
Reacting to the sudden change in the Police hierarchy, Genevieve Partington disclosed that while human rights organizations and security agencies often navigate a complex relationship, engaging with the police leadership during Dr. Dampare’s time in office proved to be particularly challenging.
“With human rights organizations and the police, we’ve always had a very nuanced relationship. The dynamics have always been different, regardless of whoever is IGP, and we are bound to not agree on certain issues,” she stated.
She revealed that Amnesty International had difficulties securing direct engagement with the police leadership under Dr. Dampare. A case in point was their attempt to involve the police in a documentary that examined the history and impact of protests in Ghana.
“It was very difficult to meet the police leadership while Dr. Dampare was the IGP. We had challenges. I know you were aware of a documentary that we came out with on protests in Ghana, the impact and the history of protests. We reached out, for example, to the police leadership several times to request that they take part in the documentary, and we just never heard back from them.
“It was always, ‘We’ll get back to you.’ We even delayed launching the documentary so that we could get their feedback, but feedback was never given” she noted.
However, Partington acknowledged that while direct engagement with police leadership was difficult, the police were consistently present at Amnesty International-hosted programs.
“Just that, like I said, dealing with leadership was a very different dynamic and with security forces, it’s always been like that with human rights organizations. We will definitely agree on some things and disagree on others,” she added.
Dr. Dampare’s removal as IGP has sparked mixed reactions, with some members of the public and law enforcement officers openly celebrating the transition.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.net
