Police wives march for peace in Tamale

The National President of the Police Wives Association (POLWA), Charity Kudalor has warned the wives of the various security agencies across Ghana to desist from engaging in open partisan politics in order to safeguard the integrity of, and public confidence in their husbands, especially in the run up to the November 7 general elections.

She charged them to beware that their husbands as security officers and public servants were prohibited from engaging in open party politics, and that the wives were equally not allowed to do same.

Mrs. Charity Kudalor, the wife of Ghana’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), John Kudalor, was addressing the members of the Northern Regional branch of the POLWA, during a peace march in Tamale.

The Tamale Peace March, which is one of a series of peace awareness campaigns being organized by the POLWA for all of its branches across Ghana, is aimed at drumming home the need for peace before, during and after the 2016 general elections.

The Northern Region POLWA members led by the Regional President, Vivian Tang with support from the Northern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ken Yeboah marched through the principal streets of Tamale; starting from the Jubilee Park through the Central Business District to Aboabo Market, Picorna Hotel area to the Central Mosque and finally converged at the Jubilee Park.

Clad in their white Association T-shirt and dancing to some sweet brass band music, the POLWA members wielded several interesting placards with peace messages to inform the onlookers who had lined up at both shoulders of the streets about the need for peace in the upcoming elections.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “We are one people with one destiny”, “We want peace not war”, “Train our children to love peace not violence”, “Ghana is bigger than you so save Ghana first”, “Victory without peace is useless”, “Preach peace not war” and “Politicians beware: Ghana is for all Ghanaians,” among others.

Apart from being led by the Regional Information Service outreach van to effectively propagate their peace message to the public, the Association also preceded the peace march with strong peace campaign on almost all the radio stations in the Tamale Metropolis to ensure the message got to the larger audiences.

The National President of POLWA, Mrs. Charity Kudalor continued that, the purpose for the peace march was to create the awareness of the need to maintain peace now, during and after the election 2016; to call on every individual to contribute their quota to promote peace and to also show their solidarity or support to the Ghana Police Service in its efforts to maintain peace, order and security in the country.

She questioned what would be the fate of the vulnerable women, children, the aged and the physically challenged, should war break in Ghana?

Mrs. Kudalor emphasized that the wives of the Police in Ghana had resolved to do everything humanly possible to make Ghana and the 2016 election a violent free, since their husbands would be at the forefront. “As wives of peacekeepers, we shall continue to support our husbands and add our voices to enriching the spirit of peaceful co-existence at all times”.

On his part, the Northern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ken Yeboah commended the POLWA members for the initiative and charged them to keep the fire burning. He was of the view that the timely peace march would go a long way to shape the minds of the people in the region to embrace peace in the coming polls.

According to him, the expectation of the Police was to ensure violence free election in the Northern Region, even though the area was perceived as violent prone region. DCOP Yeboah repeated his call on the media to play their role professionally, and refrain from sensationalism and imbalanced reportage in the run up to the elections.

He assured the public of the readiness of the Ghana Police Service in maintaining law and order, and also to ensure the protection of lives and properties before, during and after the elections. Meanwhile, the Police Wives Association now goes by the slogan: “Think peace, eat peace and drink peace”.