Government accused of bad faith

Story: Albert Salia, Caroline Boateng & Charles Benoni Okine
Last Wednesday’s action by armed policemen at the residence of the former National Security Minister, Mr Francis Poku, has led to a barrage of criticisms from sections of the public.
Although a number of people who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they agreed that it was the preserve of the President to hire and fire anyone he appointed, the manner of Mr Poku’s dismissal and the way armed security men stormed his residence in what had been described by government officials as a normal debriefing exercise smacked of vindictiveness with the intent to malign and humiliate Mr Poku.
They said the exercise only succeeded in making Mr Poku a national hero.
The Head of Research of the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Centre, Dr Kwesi Ening, said although Mr Poku’s dismissal was not grave, the manner and procedures involved were not the best.
He said there was already machinery and institutions in place to keep state security running, for which reason there was no cause for alarm.
He said Mr Poku was able to network with both national and international institutions for intelligence exchange, which was a great contribution to the security system.
Dr Ening said the explanation given by the Information and National Orientation Minister, Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, after Mr Poku’s removal, showed some dictatorial tendencies embedded with those wielding democratic power.
“It was a terrible mistake for the government to try to prevent discussion on the issue, with the excuse that it was a national security matter,” he said.
He described Wednesday’s events as a struggle between the hard-liners and the cool heads in the security apparatus.
Dr Ening said the procedure the security men used to storm Mr Poku’s house for the debriefing exercise was a mistake on the part of the government.
He, however, urged Ghanaians not to worry, as the events unfolding were only a power struggle among political bureaucrats.
The Africa Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Nana Oye Lithur, described the incident as unfortunate.
She said the action had certain implications on the credibility of the police.
“As enforcers of the law, the Ghana Police Service must be seen as the trusted embodiment of the law acting rigorously to defend the rule of law. Such routine disobedience of procedural law by the police, as was occasioned by the unlawful arrest of Mr Poku and his household, constituted an abuse of their powers of arrest,” she stated.
Nana Lithur condemned the officer who ordered Mr Poku’s arrest, saying that it was a blot on Ghana’s democratic tradition that such an incident could take place in this modern day.
“If someone as important as Mr Poku cannot be assured of his human rights being protected, what guarantee of protection is available to the vulnerable members of the community, especially the poor and the powerless?” she asked.
She called on President J.A. Kufuor to cause an investigation into the incident.
The Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel O. Akwetey, called on the government to take drastic measures to correct all the security breaches in the country to restore the confidence of the people and the international community as a whole.
He said judging from the fall-out from the cocaine saga, the accident involving the President and the way in which the former National Security Minister was handled, there were clear indications of some serious breaches which should not be allowed to recur.
He said much as the intention to undertake such an exercise might have been without any ill feeling, the strategy had raised a lot of concerns among the people and international community.
“I heard this in the international media and the way it was presented paints a negative picture about the stability of the nation,” he said.
Dr Akwetey said the situation on the ground did not create any sign of insecurity in the country and, therefore, there was the need for the government to come clean to clear the air about the developments.
“We should not allow anybody in the country to panic and the minds of the international community must be put at rest,” he added.
Dr Akwetey said Ghana had a history of coups d’etat and so any move that had a semblance of such could create problems for the image of the country.
A former head of government and spokesperson of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Osahene Boakye Djan, who also went to Mr Poku’s house on Wednesday, said the government’s explanation was untenable.
Osahene Djan said a debriefing exercise took place when soldiers reported back to their superiors after a mission.
“The term debriefing used by the government to explain the presence of the police is misleading. The normal practice, regardless of how he left office, is a handing over or taking over exercise and that should be done at the office, not in his house,” he told the Daily Graphic.
He said the turn of events was a public humiliation for the one-time security chief.
He explained that even if there was need for a debriefing, it did not have to be done by junior officers of the security detail but seniors.
“He was the highest in the security apparatus and if anyone had to debrief him, then it had to be the President himself,” he said.
Osahene Djan said the dearth of information on why Mr Poku was relieved of his duties, coupled with Wednesday’s happenings, had created the impression that all was not well with the country’s security.
He added that rumours making the rounds that Mr Poku had an altercation with the President was hard to believe because he (Mr Poku) had built his career around consensus building and not confrontation.
He said the government’s procedure in relieving him of his post and storming his house left much to be desired and created unease among Ghanaians.
“The President has nothing to prove to anyone and Mr Poku could have been impressed upon to resign or be redeployed elsewhere,” he added.
Osahene Djan said President Kufuor had to immediately control whatever damage Mr Poku’s exit might have caused by being careful of his advisors, since the backlash of any advice taken and acted on would be on the President.
He called on the Council of State, civil society organisations and the media to prevail upon the government for the right thing to be done.
“This is not about Mr Poku; it is about security for all of us,” he said.
A lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Raymond Atuguba, described the operation as an illegal one.
He said to restrict the movement of someone without telling him or her the reasons for the action was against the liberties of that person.
He said Article 14 of the 1992 Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code, Act 30, outlined the procedures under which someone’s movement could be circumscribed.
“They have violated every provision of the law. Once you place restrictions on his movement, then you have put him under arrest,” he said.