Allow Police Officers to elect their IGPs to stop the politicisation of the GPS – Lecturer

A lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. Jones Opoku-Ware, has proposed a new approach to the appointment of the Inspector General.

The lecturer, who is also a criminologist, believes the appointment of IGP, which is reserved for the president, must change.

He is therefore proposing that the Police officers be made to elect their IGP.

He noted that it is not healthy for us to keep politicising the police service.

The lecturer was reacting to the brouhaha surrounding the leaked tape, in which some senior officers of the service were captured plotting to oust the IGP.

He opined that Dr. George Akuffo Dampare has been a beneficiary and a victim of the flawed system or processes in the appointment of the IGP and the promotion of officers.

He explained that if the Police Service could elect its own IGP, we would not have the likes of COP Mensah making claims that he lobbied so he could be appointed as the IGP because he was a sympathiser of the ruling government.

“Let’s be very honest; we all know that there are certain key people in the security services who have political leanings. But they can also be professional and do their job. I know that in the Ghana Police Service, several senior officers have political leanings, but they are also able to execute their jobs.

But in the case of COP Mensah, although he had political leanings, he was counting on the political establishment to appoint him as the IGP, and because he did not get it, he had to do everything to discredit the one who was appointed.”

He said that when it comes to the election, we have to leave everything to the politicians and allow them to do whatever they have to do, particularly running their campaigns and engaging the voters so they will buy their message.

The Police are only there to provide them with security. And every policeman, no matter who you are, whether you are the IGP or a common policeman, your focus should be on policing the election to make sure lives and property are protected and also to ensure the elections are organised in a very free and fair manner.

On that score, we have to be very careful so we don’t overly politicise the Police Service. Maybe when they change their systems or processes and allow the officers to choose their own IGPs, all these suspicions and those things we can do away with,” he said on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm with host Kwabena Agyappng.