Police to patrol Accra on Monday with ‘confidence building’ march

The Ghana Police Service has announced that its officers from the National Headquarters will embark on a route march in Accra on Monday, September 21 in what it describes as a “confidence building march”.

According to the Service, this is to “assure the public of the readiness of the Police to lead provision of adequate security for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections”.

Ghana has barely two months to go to its eighth polls in the Fourth Republic.

Splashes of violence were recorded in the past seven elections with many blaming the state’s law enforcement agency of taking sides with political parties, particularly those forming the government of the day.

But in a statement issued on Sunday, September 20 by Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman, the Director of Public Affairs, the Service said: “The march is one of several activities planned to assure the public of the commitment and readiness. . .to maintain law and order before, during and after the elections.”

The exercise, which starts at 6:00am till midday, will also be used to display some of the Service’s resources including ambulances, trained dogs, and crime scene and armoured vehicles.

The march will start from the police headquarters on the Ring Road through the Ako Adjei Interchange, to 37 Military Hospital, Olusegun Obasanjo Highway, Kawukudi Roundabout, Accra Girls SHS, Pig Farm, Kotobabi, Newtown, Nima, Circle and back to the national headquarters.

“The police administration is therefore urging the general public for cooperation.”