President Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo is expected to take action on the report released by the Parliamentary Special Committee of Inquiry that delved into a leaked audio, which contents depicted a grand conspiracy by some fourth individuals to oust the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare from office.

These persons are Chief Bugri Naabu, a former Northern Regional Chairman and stalwart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Commissioner of Police (COP) George Alex Mensah, Superintendent George Lysander Asare and Superintendent Eric Emmanuel Gyebi.

As part of the Committee’s recommendations, President Akufo-Addo was to activate his vested disciplinary powers to determine the appropriate action in relation to the conduct of COP Mensah, Supt Asare and Supt Gyebi who appear to have breached the law.

According to the Committee, the police officers in question were in breach of the Police Service Regulation 82 (1) (6) of the Police Service Regulations, 2012 (C.I. 76).

The Committee settled that these officers did not deny having engaged in the scheme of seeking assistance from Bugri Naabu to remove the IGP, therefore, have offended the laws of the land and must be punished.

Concerns raised by the Committee bordered on the motive of the conspiracy, which was purely partisan considerations, which could “undermine free, fair, and transparent elections and, ultimately, the sanctity of Ghana’s democracy.”

The act of conspiring to replace the IGP by COP Mensah, Supt Asare and Supt Gyebi was political, unprofessional and an act of indiscretion as serving officers (COP Mensah retired in the course of the Inquiry), and contrary to Regulation 82 of the Police Service Regulations, 2012 (CI. 76) and section 17 (d) of the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350)” it was revealed.

The National Elections Security Task Force headed by the Ghana Police Service (GPS) was equally charged to put in place the appropriate measures to win public confidence once more in the management of electional security.

This is critical, as the conspirators’ ultimate goal was to replace the IGP with a politically exposed person in furtherance of the ruling NPP ‘s mantra “break the 8.”

It was also recommended that the appointment of the IGP should be reviewed or amended in order to secure the political independence and legitimacy of the office of the IGP.

According to the Committee, IGP nomination should be subjected to Parliamentary approval to protect the appointment process from perceptions of partisanship and political manipulation and, ultimately, preserve the sanctity of the appointment process.

The Ghana Police Service was encouraged to institutes regular professional training for police personnel at all levels on the legal, policy, and normative frameworks (national, regional, and international) for regulating professional and ethnical policing as well as professional dilemmas.

The Police Council as well as the Police Management Board (POMAB) should work in tandem with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Attorney-General, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and civil society organisations.

Furthermore, it was recommended that urgent steps should be taken through legislation for the establishment of an independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to play a watchdog role as well as ensuring accountability by providing for a complaints mechanism, while ensuring and safeguarding professional standards within the Service.

The IGP and POMAB were advised to adhere to the ethos of administrative justice/good governance as outlined in articles 23 and 296 of the 1992 Constitution

“The proposed legislation amendment, would address the legal restriction placed on police personnel, who with the approval of the GPS, improve their educational standards, including passing examinations that lead to membership of professional bodies. This would improve human resources and professional skills within the GPS as well as improve morale of affected personnel,” it said.