Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) George Alex Mensah, the Director-General in-charge of Police Operations at the Ghana Police Service has stated that the Police has oversight responsibility to supervise election policing in the country.
He said when it comes to election matters all the various security forces which constitute the Election Task Force were under the command of the Police.
Giving testimony at the Commission of Inquiry on the Ayawaso West Wuogon bye-election violence on Friday, DCOP Mensah said the Police had done its best to control vigilantism in the country; saying “our outfit has moved to make some arrests, prepared dockets and arraigned perpetrators before courts”.
He said to curb the menace of vigilantism, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) had appealed to political parties to denounce political vigilantism in the country.
The DCOP Mensah told the Commission that, as the Director-General in-charge of Operations, his duty was to superintend all police operations in the country, which he does.
Responding to a question from Mr Eric Osei Mensah, Lawyer for the Commission whether he was aware of the presence of the national security officers and the masked men, he denied knowledge of the masked men, stressing that, they were not part of his men deployed for the bye-election exercise.
“I heard of the masked men on air, I don’t know who the masked men were. I will be surprised that they were members of the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) because the vehicle is not part of those under my command and the police have never used that type of vehicle before.” he said.
Asked by the Commission’s Counsel whether there was break in security order at the by-elections, he responded in the negative, saying as far as he was concerned, the operation order for the bye-election was prepared from the police headquarters.
He stated that, as part of their operational order, other sister security agencies may be invited for reinforcement only when they were needed and would be told their terms of reference.
“No other unit took part in the election policing, if any other unit participated, that I don’t know of”, he said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) George L. Asare, East Legon Police District Commander, revealed to the Commission that he wasn’t part of the Election Task Force in the bye-election.
“I was asked to stay aside and my command pickup vehicle was taken away from me. I was asked to bring it to the Accra Region,” DSP Asare told the three-member Commission of Inquiry.
DSP Asare told the Commission that, the District Commanders of East Legon and Legon Police Stations were not part of the security operations for the by-election.
He said he got to know of the outbreak of the violence through a phone call from the Accra Region Commander and he immediately mobilised his men to the scene.
DSP Asare said when he got to the scene of the violence, he saw about 20 or more used cartridges in the hands of some people at the place.
Narrating what transpired, DSP Asare said the incident began after the security personnel engaged some persons in front of the NDC’s candidate residence and asked them why they were there.
He said the security personnel further asked why there were motorbikes packed in front of the house.
In the course of the interrogation, he said the security personnel attempted to take one of the motorbikes but the people there stopped them, leading to the outbreak of the violence.
He told the Commission that seven suspects were taken to the East Legon Police Station, two of which had sustained minor injuries, and that, they were later released to seek medical attention
Source: GNA
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No wonder an ndc man with no name! coward,why no name but this? ndc went there to cause trouble as usual but not so smart this time and they bit more than they could chew! The greater Accra police command banned motor bikes from that constituency that day so why did the ndc sent motor bikes? that's the first question, why did they resist the security force from taking away the motor bike? because they thought ndc was still in power or they thought Akufo Addo was a minced meat to munch ! ndc got what they paid for! why are you refusing to cooperate with the Short committee if you did the right thing? whether you cooperate or not if the law catches you it will be no respecter of persons! you don't know Akufo Addo and you don't know the man you dealing with!The president started his presidential journey citing rule of law as his rule and then be a citizen not a spectator! if he was able to let the law deal with his own children the Delta Force when they caught up with the law how much more azorka and the hawks and Snakes and the hyenas who are no where near him? play the f000*00l and he will show to you that even the revolution that you tout yourselves around he was around and survived. Cowards! He moved with over half a million Ghanaians to demand of a democracy from the leaders of the revolution when guns were talking at that time but with courage and bravery he led the people, when cowards were running to join the ndc how much more John mahama and his Azorka boys and Hawks and Snakes and hyenas? Let the commission finish with their works and implicate the ndc and see if this president is a coward who will bow to ndc f000*00lishness! You people don't really know Nana Addo, he is a very nice person, listening person, slow to act, compassionate but doesn't take non*sense!
The testimony of DSP George Asare showed him to be unreasonably embittered. His negative attitude to the Police Service was uncalled. The By election was a peculiar election with peculiar challenges that demand peculiar attention.Hannah Bisiw from Brong Ahafo Region had become Polling Station Agent. He DSP Asare himself testified that some high political personalities came to the district because of the election. He stated that Mr. Vanderpuye and Sam George had come with some persons outside the constituency to work for their party in the election. Such unusual circumstances demand special attention and response. In view of that the Police Service charged the Regional Command to oversee the election with support of National logistics. The District command was not to be directly involved to avoid confusion in operational duties. Such arrangement was also important for the District Command to undertake its normal day-to-day activities in the in its jurisdiction.Besides, election in the district did not mean everything should come to a stand still and so the district needed a free hand to undertake its normal duties. The negative impression exhibited by DSP Asare as if he was ignored was unnecessary, unreasonable and unprofessional. It is a mark of incompetence and incapability for a good leadership. Listening to DCOP George Mensah, I could follow the logic and the wisdom of the Police Service arrangements to provide security for the election. So normally and generally the Police had no problem for Ayawaso election. The Mayhem at Ayawaso directly involved National Security operatives. Policemen under National Security operate under directives of National Security who become responsible for their operations. It can also deduce that sometimes it might not be secured for one security command to divulge security intelligence across security agencies until the matter is adequately established. It is not extremely strange for National Security to engage in an operation outside the purview of the Police Service. The Police might had a relatively a free day for the Ayawaso election because the National Security absorbed the heat that might have erupted to challenge the police. The actual picture of the whole chaos might be well understood when the Emil Short's Commission finishes its work and the Commander of the National Security gives its testimony to the commission whether openly or in camera.