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General News of Monday, 21 March 2011

Source: peacefmonline

AFAG Happy With Kwesi Ofori's Re-assignment

Pressure Group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has described the reassignment of the Head of the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Kwesi Ofori to the Tafo Pankrono Police in the Ashanti Region as a big victory for the Ghanaian society.

According to the group, considering how he handled some critical issues and the kind of responses he gave to some serious questions; his re-assignment is a demotion and a victory for civil society.

Supt. Samuel Kwasi Ofori was relieved of his post and transferred to Tafo Pankrono in the Ashanti region as the District Commander on Friday.

Though no reason has been assigned for his re-assignment, information gathered is that it had to do with an interview he granted over the usage of mobile phones in police cells by suspects. According to sources, he was not supposed to have spoken on the matter but should have allowed the Intelligence and the other Professional Units within the service to handle it since it was purely an internal issue.

Speaking in an interview with Peace FM News, Samuel Awuku, Director of Operations for AFAG said the pressure group received the news of Kwesi Ofori’s re-assignment with elation. According to him, there is no hiding their joy over Kwesi Ofori’s predicament.

“Indeed, when we heard that there have been some changes in the Police service, AFAG was expecting that Kwesi Ofori will not be made to speak for the police again because if you look at some of the things he has handled in the past, there are so many lies…it is a big victory for democracy,” he noted.

He accused Supt. Kwesi Ofori of defending the indefensible and consistently evading providing answers, citing the incident at Chereponi where a national security operative was captured on video shooting into the middle of a crowd.

“Kwami Sefa Kayi has questioned him on countless numbers concerning the man who shot into the crowd in Chereponi but he always postpones in giving an answer…There have been electoral and other violence at various localities but whenever he is questioned he sweeps it under the carpet and covers it with a white sheet,” he noted.

He also made reference to the recent tear-gassing of demonstrating teachers by the police, pointing out that it’s an indictment on the service.

“…if the police did not deem the action by NDC footsoldiers who constantly go on rampage as lawless, but rather went ahead to maltreat teachers who were only fighting for their rights, then it is an indictment on their part and a blot on the administration which cannot be erased,” he added.

The AFAG capo, however, wished Supt. Kwesi Ofori well in his new job, urging him to give off his best and stop the ‘selective administration of justice’.