Kofi Bentil, the vice president of IMANI Africa has boldly revealed they do not speak for the outgoing Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare and also do not have any problem with the new IGP Yohunu.
He asserted that he knew IGP Yohonu many years before he even knew IGP Dampare and so the issue was not about the personalities, it was about the security services.
According to Kofi Bentil, IMANI condemned the government’s decision to appoint a new Inspector General of Police (IGP) while a Supreme Court ruling on the removal of the former IGP is pending.
Speaking on JOY NEWS, Kofi Bentil stated, “We did not speak for IGP Dampare, myself and Prof Anning here, we have been at this thing for years before IGP Dampare. We don’t speak for him, and we have no problem with anybody doing their job. We have no problem with IGP Yohonu. I knew IGP Yohonu many years before I even knew IGP Dampare, so it is not about the personalities, it is about the security services”.
“Now this will create confusion if that ruling comes out to hold our viewpoint that upon the reading of all the laws that are applicable, a president can appoint but may not remove a ranked officer without just cause.”
He further described John Mahama’s decision to relieve Dr. George Akuffo Dampare of his duties and replace him with COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno as unacceptable.
Kofi Bentil added, “When a case is before a court, it is contemptuous of the court for anybody to take an action that overreaches the court. …What it means is simply that you don’t do anything to make nonsense of a court ruling where it is imminent.
“Now, the action, therefore, of the executive is contemptuous of the highest court of this land, because for about a year now, a case has been filed before they came into office,” he said,” he said.
He further added, “That confusion which will erupt is exactly the reason why no law-abiding person, when a case is before a court and the court is about to make a ruling, would go and try to overreach the court.
“Indeed, there is a school of thought that believes that under the circumstance, there is already an injunction in place, which is why we filed to confirm that injunction, so that, if there is any doubt, nobody will act based on that.
“Now being that, as it may, that they have done what they’ve done if the court ruled that indeed, the president should not remove any IGP or security head or whatever without just cause, what happens? We end up in a very, very terrible stalemate” he said.
