Dampare weeps: My heart is in pains, my wife is in pains, my kids are in pains

Ghana’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, yesterday poured out his heart in a touching monologue capable of drawing sympathy from even the stoniest of hearts when he appeared before the Seven-Member Ad hoc Committee set by Parliament to investigate an audio recording that captured the voices of top police officers conspiring to oust him with the help of politicians.

The IGP, told the Committee, in a session that was carried live on several radio and television stations across the country that he is a man of many sorrows and recent events have put him, his wife and their children in deep emotional pains.

The said police officers whose voices were captured on the tape had earlier testified before the Committee Chaired by ace lawyer and Member of Parliament, Samuel Atta Akyea and they publicly made jaw-dropping, ugly allegations against his person, style of leadership and boldly indicted him as being the worst IGP in Ghana’s history.

The Committee summoned Dr. Dampare to respond to the eyebrows-raising allegations made against him but his introductory remarks were that the entire episode was an unfair one to him:

Sounding sober but firm, Dr. Dampare spoke from the bottom on his heart when he addressed the Chairman of the Committee, Ataa Akyea ESQ:

“My brothers were given the opportunity to come and speak and they  did speak and made indications that yes, they are involved in what was happening. Then all of a sudden, instead of them to focus on that matter, they came out with wild allegations.

“Honourable Chair; wild allegations that touched on my person, the Police leadership that I lead and the entirety of the Police Service, without, until today that I am being told that they have some evidence, without a shred of evidence.

“Honourable Chair at the time that they were making it, without a shred of evidence, and Honourable Chair, those wild allegations without a shred of evidence have brought a lot of pains to myself, my family, across the country and especially my wife and children.

“That you are so patriotic  because you believe in what you call ‘Pan-Ghanaianism’; where you think that because of our multi-ethnic nature, everybody that you see, as long as the person is a Ghanaian,  he or she is a brother or sister, mother or father, uncle or auntie.

“Then the pain also to my Command, my leaders, my team that we work together that we all know and the pain to the thousands of police people who are appreciating the strides that we are making in transforming the organization to be the best institution in the country and a reference point to the rest of the world.

“They came and made all these allegations in order to  cover up probably,  the shame associated with what they got themselves involved in, in the first place.

“And  I, an innocent person focusing  my job, working in concert with my team and all Commands across the country to keep  the country safe and make it to be at peace with itself, I have been asked to come and answer to these allegations which are wild, baseless and I feel I my spirit that this is just not fair. Honourable Chair, it is just not fair.

“Are we killing patriotism: that anybody can just get up, make allegations upon allegations and people who go across the country at times, 48 hours nonstop without sleep just to keep the country at peace would be called to come and answer allegations that are unfounded. And that becomes something.

“Anyway, I am here, I have no choice. I have no choice and I have come and I say unto the glory of God, my Maker who sustains me every day that I will speak  to the matter as you direct.

“And I am doing this because of the respect that I have for myself, for my family, especially my children and wife, for the office that I occupy , for my brothers and sisters that are sitting behind me; that we have pulled ourselves together in an unprecedented manner in a team work to get these things done for this country and for the respect I have for institutions of State including the Parliament that we are here today and the respect I have for Mr. President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, for the honour that he has done me by making me the Inspector General of Police  to work with my colleagues and equally more important for the respect that I have for the good people of this country.

“So Honourable Chair, I am here being asked to answer to wild allegations unsubstantiated by my brothers in order to cover up their shame.

“I  am ready”, Dr. Dampare noted and then subjected himself to a barrage of questions from the Committee for well over an hour and a half.

Dr. Dampare was in the company of his Lawyer, Kwame Gyan, who made an official request for the three implicated senior police officers caught on the said tape should be not be made to set in the meeting during the testimony of his client.

“What we are saying is that, it is unfair, unjust, inequitable for the witnesses who spoke in our absence to come and sit in when we have to speak.

“We believe in consistency of treatment. The same way that we sat outside they should also sit outside… we very strongly object the presence of the three police officers and the civilian. We think it’s unfair, unjust, inequitable and unconstitutional,” Kwame Gyan argued.

The Chairman of the Committee, Atta Akyea did not grant the request.