The recent publication about frustration among some senior police personnel following the promotion of Chief Superintendent David Apeatu to the post of Deputy Commissioner of Police DCOP has cause a stir within service.
“The Evening News” has learnt that following its publication on Wednesday, 18 September 2002 the Inspector-General of Police, Nana Owusu Nsiah, summoned a meeting to express dissatisfaction about leakages to the press on promotions within the service.
Source close to the Police Headquarters hinted “The Evening News” that the IGP issued a stern warning to the police officers to refrain from giving out information to the media on internal matters which were of public interest in order not to drag the name of the police service in the mud.
The source said one of the senior officers who had fallen victim to the IGP’s warning was Mrs Gifty Anim-Botwe of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters to the Police Depot as the Director of Education.
The reason for her transfer was that she (Mrs Anim-Botwe was cited together with Mrs Joana Sarpong Mensah, Assistant Commissioner of police (ACP) in-charge of the police forensic Laboratory.
Mrs Sarpong mensah is said to have been warned by the IGP that the next time she speaks to the press, (which she has not done) she would suffer the same fate as Mrs Anim-Botwe. However, the sources said the stage is set for a culture of silence at the Police Headquarters, as Police officers did not know whom to believe, in view of the IGP’s warnings to them not to talk the press.
The sources told “The Evening News” that Mr Apeatu was a crime scene expert and not a career police officer, therefore, his last position should be DCOP and not to be appointed as the CID boss. It said the current moves had made career officers to lose confidence that they would ever rise to the top, in view of the promotion of non-career officers to certain position in the service.
“The Evening News” in its 18 September, issue published a story that all was not well at the police Forensic Laboratory at the police Headquarters, following the promotion of Chief Superintendent David Apeatu to DCOP.
According sources close to the Police Headquarters, he (Mr Apeatu) was likely to become the new CID boss upon his return to Ghana. The sources said Mr Sam Awortwi, Commissioner in-charge of Legal and Prosecutions, has been assigned temporal responsibility as the Acting CID boss.
It said Mr Apeatu was the second in command to the ACP Mrs Sarpong Mensah, who is in-charge of the Police Forensic Laboratory. Mr Apeatu’s sudden jump form Chief Superintendent to DCOP is said to creating uneasiness at the Forensic Unit.
The sources said continuous government interference in the appointment of officers and undue promotions in the Police Service was going to create unhealthy relationship and undermine professional in the Service.
