IGP rewards police chief for rejecting bribe

The New Juaben Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent Richardson Kumekor and his station officer, Inspector Ebenezer Sakyi, have been rewarded by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, for their exemplary conduct, integrity, outstanding performance and above all, rejecting Ghc 1,500.00 bribe from a wee suspect.

The commander and the station officer both received gold medals with the citation: “'The Ghana Police Service: Medal of Appreciation and Valour.” The short, but colorful event took place last week at the forecourt of the National Police Headquarters, Accra.

The Police Commander was among 41 selected police officers who were honoured by the IGP during the ceremony.

The awardees were selected personnel from the National Headquarters, Eastern, Volta, Greater Accra and Central regions. While the team leaders received medals, their supporting members received certificates of superlative performance.

It would be recalled that the DAILY HERITAGE recently carried a report that the New Juaben municipal police commander, Supt. Kumeko on October 23, this year, rejected a Ghc1,500.00 bribe from a 27-yr-old mechanic, Kwabena Nyameke, who was arrested for possessing marijuana, popularly known as 'wee' in the New Juaben municipality.

The municipal commander flatly rejected the mouth-watering offer and ordered that the suspect be prosecuted and has since been remanded into Police Custody.

The suspect, a native of Half-Assini in the Western region, travelled to Koforidua to buy 19 parcels of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp to transport back to Half-Assini to sell to the public.

Reacting to the conduct of the police officers, the IGP stated that the efforts of the awardees led to the arrest and prosecution of suspected criminals in their respective jurisdictions even at the instance of being offered bribe ranging between Ghc1,500.00 and Ghc7,000.00.

He congratulated the beneficiaries for their refusal to allow themselves to be influenced by their superiors or offenders into accepting bribes, adding that such a visible display of exemplary acts of conduct of valour are worth rewarding.

The IGP stressed that, personnel who excel in various disciplines that raise the image of the police would be honoured to encourage others to exhibit professionalism in line of duty.

In an interview, Supt Kumekor said the award received has set a high standard for him and a morale booster to work harder on the wheels of the ethics and professional conduct of the institution in order to help fight crime.

He urged personnel in the service to collectively help raise the image of the police service with a word of caution to the public, especially, the influential personalities in society to desist from inducing personnel of the service or pleading in order to release offenders of the law. He said the law must be allowed to work since no one is above the law.