Last year after the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) absolved then President John Mahama of any wrongdoing in the Ford Expedition saga, many people concluded the report had been massaged.
Political critics were clear in their minds the anti-graft agency had been compromised into ruling in favour of Mahama because it was an election year and he was desperately in need of a second term.
Exactly a year later (in September), the country is grappling with a yet-another story that has to do with two top government officials. Pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) musician, A-Plus had accused two deputy Chiefs of Staff – Francis Asenso and Samuel Jinapor – of corruption. Desirous to establish the veracity of the claim, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo charged the police to investigate the matter.
The Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) dismissed the allegation at the end of its probe and described it as baseless and hollow. The two officials were acquitted.
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But just when Ghanaians had forgotten about the cacophony that greeted the incident, a recorded telephone conversation between A-Plus and Deputy CID boss, ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo Danquah surfaced. Its content may be mild but compromising for an institution charged with the safety of Ghanaians.
In the audio, the Deputy CID boss was heard telling the musician not to make a big case out of the issue because of his membership of the NPP.
The CID has admitted the voice in the audio is that of ACP Danquah but said portions of the conversation had been doctored.
Earlier ACP Danquah had pathetically responded to the issue, saying the audio had been edited by some persons for an evil purpose. She said she had several conversations with A-Plus but did not confirm his corruption claim against the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff was true.
The desperation of the police officer to reassemble the broken bottle in the matter is disingenuous. Although the CID said the audio had been tampered with, it couldn’t point out which aspect of the conversation had been edited.
Needless to say, the kneejerk response by the police CID raises some questions about the integrity of the current police administration. I am convinced lying to Ghanaians will damage the image of the police and this will persist.
It’s apparent some politicians and officers of the law remain impervious to the lessons of history, even when it involves them or their colleagues.
The real danger for the police is that people will simply not trust them as they prepare to investigate some alleged cases of malfeasance by former government officials.
Truth is, it’s not the doctored telephone conversation between A-Plus and ACP Danquah that matters to Ghanaians. It is the cover-up by the police CID.
We need some answers to certain questions that an investigation into the audio conversation will lead us to.