A former Education Minister Professor Kwesi Yankah has described the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, as an “unusual” police officer.
According to the educationist, the humility and efficiency of the Police chief is not typical of a Ghanaian public servant.
“Our very first encounter was in 2018 when I was also a big man, a minister they call it. He came to my office a couple of times as Commissioner of Police, representing his boss the IGP, for an official meeting. The meeting over, I asked myself whether the young man’s demeanour was ‘normal.’ Overly courteous, polite to a fault, soft-spoken, arms crossed behind, all smiles, self-effacing, virtually boyish.
“Far from the demeanour of a tough-talking, muscle-flexing officer. Was he play-acting? I started revising my notes, for there might be a few policemen manifesting ‘abnormality’ in Ghana,” he wrote on Facebook.
Professor Yankah also said the non-discriminatory manner in which both the influential and regular Ghanaians are treated for offences since Dr Dampare became IGP is commendable
“Within two years; visible signs of a new image loom around the Ghana police we knew. You see, whenever Ghana gets fed up with herself, the yearning for change cannot be mistaken. You could see smiles playing around our lips as we started seeing strange things happening: Big men pulled over by the police for overspeeding, arrested for wrongful parking, charged for jumping the red light; small and big men arraigned before court for motor traffic offences, all on TV camera.
“No longer do you know who I am? Unprovoked police brutalities on demonstrators fading; dialogue by IGP himself with potential street protestors ahead of action; speedier arrest of armed fugitives; orderly by-elections, quicker response to stressful calls. Was this Ogyakrom?”.
He noted the transformation in the police service is both within and outside of the service.