PHOTO: IGP DAMPARE
I’ve read arguably one of the most useless pieces of sponsored writing by one guy who would want to be identified as Richie Ababio. His article titled “Yohonu’s Actions Causing Unnecessary Division and Drama in the Police Service” is a waste of everyone’s time and should be treated with the utmost contempt it deserves.
Perhaps Ababio is a novice in security matters, which explains his baseless attack on one of the most respected and valued officers in the Ghana Police Service today. If there is anyone in the Ghana Police Service who needs to reconsider their leadership approach, it is undoubtedly his paymaster, IGP Dampare, whose removal is being demanded by over 90% of the service’s personnel.
The position of IGP is not and cannot be an award; it must be earned through merit, experience, and leadership. However, let me educate Ababio—his paymaster, Dampare, has long been the most undeserving member of POMAB. If the IGP position were truly based on merit, experience, and leadership, Dampare would never have come close. For over 14 years, he schemed and fought tooth and nail for the position but failed—until Akufo-Addo appeared and deceived NPP bigwigs, claiming his name, Akufo-Dampare, had unfairly blocked his rise.
Today, it’s laughable to hear Dampare’s camp accusing Deputy IGP Christian Tetteh Yohonu of using bloggers to spread unsubstantiated claims. Really? This is coming from the same Dampare who orchestrated a massive PR operation—recruiting journalists, bloggers, retired and serving police officers, civil society groups, chiefs, celebrities, lecturers, professors, security experts, and even criminals staging fake robberies to create insecurity and discredit his predecessors. Does he think we have forgotten how he plotted against IGPs Kudalor, Asante Apeatu, and Oppong Boanuh?
Every police officer in Ghana knows how supportive Yohonu was to Dampare before he was appointed Deputy IGP. But once Dampare sensed that the NPP was on its way out, he devised a strategy to block Yohonu from becoming IGP under an NDC government. Dampare is not God. After convincing the NPP that Yohonu was an NDC man, he is now trying to sell himself to the NDC as their own. How can one man be this deceitful?
Dampare is now telling the NDC that he helped them win power and should be retained. If true, what was he telling the NPP before they appointed him? How did Dampare convince the NPP and President Akufo-Addo to choose him over experienced officers like COP Kofi Boakye, COP George Alex Mensah, and COP Ken Yeboah? This information will be critical for the NDC to decide whether to keep him or not.
Dampare’s claim that he betrayed President Akufo-Addo to support John Mahama’s victory should be a major red flag for the NDC. If he could betray the very people who put him in power, how can Mahama trust him?
Dampare is arguably the most divisive IGP in Ghana’s history, earning nearly 90% disapproval among his subordinates. Every time rumours of his dismissal surface, police stations across the country erupt in celebrations.
Although Yohonu was appointed Deputy IGP in an election year, it was Dampare who ensured that Akufo-Addo sidelined him over alleged NDC links. However, Ibrahim Mahama, brother of President John Mahama, supported Yohonu in establishing a national election security intelligence monitoring centre, which exposed major electoral irregularities.
It is contradictory for Dampare and his allies to claim he is the best thing that happened to Ghana while 90% of police officers want him gone. Has he ever asked himself why almost the entire service is against his leadership?
For the sake of the Police Service and the nation, Dampare should step down. His leadership has been marked by division, self-interest, and betrayal. The Ghana Police Service deserves better, and Ghana’s stability depends on it.
Adator Adjetey Kingsley Kwame
House No. AS 456
Asamankese
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