Kwame Baffoe, the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), popularly known as Abronye DC, has raised questions about the involvement of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the interdiction of senior police officers, following revelations from an ongoing hearing on a leaked tape.
The tape allegedly contains discussions about a plot to remove the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
During the public hearing on the tape, IGP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare indicated that it was the Police Council that ordered the interdiction of three officers implicated in the tape: COP George Alex Mensah, Superintendent George L. Asare, and Superintendent Emmanuel Gyabi.
In an interview on Oman FM on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, Kwame Baffoe referred to Article 201 of the Constitution, highlighting that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia serves as the Chairman of the Police Council.
This, he argued, suggests that the Vice President may have been the one who ordered the interdiction of the officers and not the IGP.
Abronye DC emphasized the need for the Vice President to provide an explanation for his involvement in the interdiction decision. He pointed out that the public hearing on the alleged plot to remove the IGP was underway when news of the interdiction emerged.
He stated, “When you look at Articles 200 and 201 of our constitution, it states that the Vice President is the Chairman of the Police Council. This means that he sat in and ordered for the interdiction of Alex Mensah.”
The interdiction of the three senior police officers was initially issued on Thursday, September 8, 2023, but it was revoked the following day, Friday, September 9, 2023, in response to criticisms that it could impact the work of the committee conducting the investigations.
