A purported secret audio recording has emerged, detailing an alleged plot by persons suspected to be high-ranking officials of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a top member of the Ghana Police Service to remove the current Inspector-General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, from office ahead of the 2024 elections.
The unidentified individuals involved in the recorded conversation expressed frustration over the IGP’s alleged reluctance to align the police force’s activities with the interests of the ruling party.
They raised concerns about his leadership style and rumoured association with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“I know there are others who are also good for this position. If I don’t get and this man is changed and those people that we think they are our men get it, [I will be happy]… Because we need to break this 8. That is important, we need to break the 8… Because I wouldn’t want doctor to become the flagbearer and then we lose the elections,” one of the men who is reportedly a police officer in the audio is heard saying.
As a result, they concluded that achieving the NPP’s ‘Breaking the 8’ agenda, would be impossible with Dr Dampare as the head of the police.
“This IGP is not correct, he won’t help us. Alhaji you have done politics, you know elections is not just…elections, sometimes mafia work is inside… and this man sitting down up there will not help our party to do anything,” the supposed security official added.
The other, who identified himself in the tape as a former NPP Regional Chairman, corroborates his statement by responding “[it’s] not just sometimes, mafia work is inside. As for elections mafia work is involved.”
Regarding the just-ended Assin North bye-election, the unnamed security official explained that “we should have selected our own people [security personnel] to go there so that we work with the party over there so that they know how to do their things.”
The purported top NPP official agreed.
“I will talk to the chairman and the general secretary myself… they should stay in the headquarters. They will go and see our plans and work to destroy it,” the supposed senior NPP member responded.
The purported security official further said: “This current man will not help us. Me, I have been an NPP (member) long time before I even joined the service, and now we need… because if we don’t break the 8… that is my only objective.”
When asked why they did not speak up during the IGP’s nomination, he answered “We said it they didn’t believe us.
“We told them that we will regret it… they thought because we were also fighting for position that is why we were destroying him. But when he started arresting party people that is where they saw that hmmm… we said this and we said we told you. And we are still sitting down watching. If we watch and go to opposition, trouble.”
It is important to note that the authenticity of the audio recording has not been independently verified by JoyNews yet.
The emergence of this alleged plot raises questions about the dynamics between political parties and security agencies in Ghana.
And while the veracity of the claims and the extent of any potential plot as contained in the recording remains uncertain, there have been reactions trickling in already from some quarters including Parliament.
Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Peter Lanchene Toobu, himself an ex-policeman, says any efforts to remove IGP Dr Dampare to enable the NPP to rig the 2024 election will be fiercely resisted.
The former Police Officer warned such an action could seriously put the 4th Republic at risk.
Speaking to JoyNews, Peter Toobu asked the IGP to stay focused.
“Whoever thinks that way is undemocratic in the brain because if somebody thinks that the Ayawaso West Wuogon bye-election type of violence can lead the NPP to break the 8 then it means that we don’t want the 4th Republic.
“Because if anything like the Ayawaso West Wuogon bye-election resurfaces in the 2024 elections, our democracy will be gone. Nobody will sit and take that,” he cautioned.