IGP leaked tape: Alleged draft report intended to hurt COP Mensah politically – Atta Akyea

Samuel Atta Akyea, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee that probed the leaked audio tape on the plot to remove the IGP, believes the alleged draft report in circulation was issued to harm the electoral fortunes of COP Mensah’s who’s contesting to be NPP’s Parliamentary candidate for Bekwai.

The media has widely published news from an alleged draft report which claimed the investigative committee recommended prosecution of the three Police officers, caught on the leaked tape, COP Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi.

The report further claimed the committee while clearing the IGP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare of any wrongdoing said the three other officers must be charged for perjury.

Portions of the alleged draft report of the committee obtained by the media said: “The three senior police officers namely, COP Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi involved in the conspiracy to remove the IGP should be referred for further investigation and possible prosecution for perjury under the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) and professional misconduct under the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350) and the Police Service Regulations, 2012, (C.I. 76).

But Committee Chairman, Lawyer Atta Akyea in an interview with Starr News has vehemently denied the said report captures the views of the committee and believes it was put out to enable someone score some political points against COP Alex Mensah who is contesting in the NPP parliamentary primaries slated for January 27, 2024.

“Well, at the end of the day if this is not a report from the committee then it must be taken as propaganda. I am sure anybody who is dealing with that kind of huge political undertaking to become an MP will see propaganda as it is. If it is coming from anybody who believes this is going to harm the man, so that he gets political millage and advantage, that’s up to whoever is scheming. I want to repeat, this is not the committee’s report.”

The astute law-maker added that the Committee views the circulation of this report very seriously and will investigate how it got out.

“This is one of the very serious matter we need to investigate. because at the end of the day the committee has not even converged on the key issues and also what we are supposed to do and so it is work in progress. So for anybody to put this thing out there as the committee report is a serious matter of consequence and we need to look into it seriously. We have to investigate the source of this document because it is clear contempt of Parliament for anybody to improvise a document and attribute it to the work of the committee. The committee is even waiting for the draft report which the clerks will bring to us and then we look at it and dot the Is and cross the Ts and see the logic of what we are about to sign. The Chairman of the Committee and the Clerk will sign and that is when the Committee owns the document and we can put it before the plenary. So what we are seeing is very improvised and con job. It is not good for our democracy.”