The Ghana Police Service has condemned a tweet by the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson, in relation to the arrest of the convener of the FixTheCountry Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, on May 17, 2022.
The Police Service revealed that the comments made by the British High Commissioner was from either a “biased or uninformed position”, and it is only right for the Service to respond.
“… We have learnt from a previous painful experience that it has not been helpful to ignore such misguided, unwarranted, and biased comments intended to tarnish the reputation of the Ghana Police Service and that of our country.”
Ghana Police Service
Contained in a letter signed by the IGP, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, it noted that the British High Commissioner’s tweet is a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 “which enjoins diplomatic missions not to interfere in the internal affairs of their host country”.
The Police highlighted that there is the need to address phrases such as “arrested again” used by Madam Thompson which sought to reference “the previous occasions Mr Barker-Voramwor was arrested by threatening the security of the state and recently for motor traffic offences”.
“Since you may be unaware of the charges against the person of interest in your tweet, we are happy to give you some background. Among other things, in February this year, Mr Barker-Vormawor threatened the security of the state by categorically stating his intentions to stage a coup and cause instability in the country…”
Ghana Police Service
Arrest of Vormawor by Police
The letter indicated that in line with the laws of the country, Mr Vormawor was arrested and taken through due process and subsequently granted bail by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Similarly, the Police recounted that the FixTheCountry convener on May 17, 2022, was also among other drivers who were arrested separately for road traffic offences and were arraigned before court.
“Against this backdrop, and in view of the fact that he is not the only person who is being taken through due process for committing an offence in this country, it is difficult to understand what to understand why he is your only focus. Are we to understand that you are concerned about the law enforcement process in Ghana or only as applied to your person of interest?”
Ghana Police Service
The Police expressed that just as “Britain reveres its army and continuously celebrates both serving and retired officer”, Ghana equally treasures its Police Service, the Armed Forces and all other security agencies. It highlighted that Ghana is committed to building these institutions into strong and “revered pillars of society that perform their duties excellently”.
Justifying its stance, the Police revealed that some leaders of faith-based organizations in Britain made pronouncements that were considered as national security threat and they were “branded as terrorists, arrested, prosecuted and in some cases extradited”.
“This, we believe, your country did in its quest to safeguard the security of the state and ensure sustenance of the peace the inhabitants enjoy.”
Ghana Police Service
It will be recalled that the British High Commissioner, Madam Harriet Thompson, in a Tweet on May 17, 2022, expressed her sentiments on the arrest of Oliver Barker Vormawor by the Police. She intimated that she is interested to seeing “where this goes”.
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