The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has taken strong exceptions to the police administration’s response to the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, for her public remarks on the arrest of #FixTheCountry convener, Oliver Barker-Vormawor.
Harriet Thompson tweeted: “Oliver Barker-Vormawor, convener of #FixTheCountry movement, arrested again, I understand [it’s] for a motoring offence [and he’s currently] on his way to court. I’ll be interested to see where this goes…”
But in a strongly-worded letter, the police through the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare said the High Commissioner’s comments on the matter, which came in a tweet, were “either a biased or uninformed position.”
This reply, the NDC finds “misguided and regrettable.”
General Secretary of the party, Johnson Aseidu Nketiah in a release said the utterances of the IGP could mar Ghana’s affairs with the UK government given the strong bilateral relations between the two countries.
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“The IGP’s rather ill-advised attack on the British High Commissioner for being meddlesome in Ghana’s internal affairs appears rather far-fetched, particularly considering the significant fact that the activist of interest is a student in the UK, and that matters of human rights are universal and cardinal”, the NDC’s statement read in parts.
It also took on the Akufo-Addo government for superintending over accusations of Ghana violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961.
“It is only autocratic regimes who have no regard for democratic principles that are averse to criticism and international scrutiny”, the statement added.
The party wants the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene in offering diplomatic guidance to the IGP and also taking concrete steps to ease tensions.
“The NDC wishes to caution the IGP against a posture of high-handedness and insipid arrogance which creates the impression that the Ghana Police Service under his leadership is above reproach. He must also be reminded that he does not speak for the Ghana Armed Forces or the Government of Ghana.”
This comes after Barker-Vormawor was arrested for careless and inconsiderate driving and non-observance of road markings at the East Legon tunnel in Accra.
Mr. Barker-Vormawor pleaded not guilty and was granted bail by the court.
