Let all hands be on deck to assist Inspector-General of Police fight police corruption

It could not have come at a better time, the decision by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr James Oppong-Boanuh, to empower the Ghanaian public to report any abuses of power and trust by the police, especially their infatuation with collection of bribes on Ghana roads. I had been yearning for this day which has come to pass in the end. What a sigh of relief, I can say.

I had on a number of occasions challenged police officers seen accepting bribes from motorists. Instead of arresting the drivers for any road infringements they may have committed, the police officers rather choose to take bribes from them to brush the offence committed under the carpet. In most instances, the drivers had done absolutely nothing wrong yet these bribe-taking officers will still oblige them to part with anything from five to ten Cedis to them.

I have published many feature articles on this roguish attitude by the Ghana police which immensely contribute to the numerous road accidents occurring daily on our roads. If they would indeed check that the driver’s vehicle (car) is in perfect usage condition, with the driver himself being sound in mind, ears and eyes, not driving carelessly, and in possession of all the right documents needed for driving a car, there may be an appreciable level of reduction in the road accidents we often hear of, or see, happen, on Ghana roads on daily basis.

In March 2019, I had a run in with a police officer seen accepting bribe from the driver of a passenger bus I was on board. This happened between the Ejisu-Krapa-Kwamo stretch of road on the Kumasi-Accra highway. He had the shameless audacity to insult me when I challenged him. I responded by telling him off, raised my voice at him for being corrupt, unethical in carrying out his duties as a law enforcer yet, has the boldness to insult me.

Now that the IGP is encouraging the public to help in the fight against police corruption, the foundation of the ramification of most evils and crimes as are ongoing in Ghana, there is no doubt in my mind that most Ghanaians will help to make his dream of wiping off police corruption from Ghana come to pass.

Without the public participation by embracing the opportunity so offered to us by the IGP, especially the commuters, his efforts to quash the endemic corruption within the Ghana police force will come to naught. We can easily help by using our smart phones to record any instances of police corruption and send them to the designated department as announced.

If we are able to stop the police from taking bribes, it will be the first step in the right direction to fighting the cancerous official corruption in the country that has reduced the Ghanaian or the black man to a subhuman with our African countries turned into shitholes. The money meant for developing the country is embezzled by a few people who think they have the power and the right to steal with impunity. If the police are unable to take bribes, the next step will be to stop those in the judicial system from taking bribes. For if the IGP's effort succeeds, it will surely be adopted by any future Chief Justice to sanitize the judicial system which stinks of foul corruption hence breeding injustices and furthering criminalities in the country.

I am never a friend of, and shall never be, of the rotten Ghana judicial system. I shall be taking them on very badly. They are the cause of the many malpractices going on in Ghana because of their stupid desire not to be fair in their pronouncements of verdicts most of which are often based on inducements but not on the credible facts, permissible and acceptable evidence before them.

We should be able to deal with these rogues in the society by employing any legal means possible or else, Ghana will never develop to the level that may compel the contemporary White man to regard us as an intelligent people.

I call on all Ghanaians to avail themselves of the golden opportunity presented to the Ghanaian public on a silver platter by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr James Oppong-Boanuh, to getting rid of the absurd fondness for quick wealth through corruption by most Ghana police officers.

SUGGESTION:

It will be very helpful for vehicles to be fitted with both front and rear dash cams (cameras) to capture any instances of police officers accepting bribes from motorists. I have checked the dash cams and they are not very expensive. I know many a live-in Ghana car (vehicle) owner may not spend money on a dash cam but it will be very good if they did install dash cams in their cars. It will even help identify armed robbers attacking their cars for such robbers to be easily apprehended by the police.

If the government makes it obligatory for dash cams to be installed in cars, it will go a long way to help fight not only the police corruption on our roads but most illegal activities taking place on the roads involving drivers, armed robbers, etc.

Fellow Ghanaians resident abroad (“Burgers”), could you please install dash cams in your commercial and private cars in Ghana to facilitate the IGP’s desire to fight the disgraceful and nonsensical ongoing police love of taking bribes?

When approaching a permanent or a temporary mounted police barrier on the roads, passengers with smart phones on them should please set them to record mode, ready to press the recording button should a police officer stop the car, truck or van (vehicle). Start pre-recording the day, time and place (e.g. Saturday, 30 November 2019, 2 pm and Kumawu Yaw Asoadwa Nkwanta). Pretend as though you are talking to someone on the phone, but indeed you are recording the police officer. You can record from the moment the driver is placing some money inside his/her driving licence, road worthy certificate or whatever, ready to hand over to the police for inspection until when the police officer removes the money, gives the document (driving licence, etc.) back to the driver and waves him on.

Then, please do as the IGP says, thus, "Persons who witness any activity of crime in their community can call the 24-hours toll-free number 191 or 18555 to report such cases for prompt response from the police".

"Individuals can contact the policer service to report bribery cases on these numbers:"

Voice call and SMS: 0550323323/ 0275000156

WhatsApp line: 0206639121

Once you read this publication, the first thing to do is to write down the numbers. Quickly install the given WhatsApp number on your phone as soon as you have finished reading this publication. Without our help as requested by the IGP, the police corruption will continue unabated to our general detriment.