The Ashanti Regional Police Command has accused police personnel of the Kumasi Zongo Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of taking bribes and illegally impounding vehicles.

According to the command, the personnel are misinterpreting section 120, Sub-section Six of the Road Traffic Act 683 of 2004, which stipulates that a driver has 24 hours to produce his driving licence when arrested and is unable to produce it on the spot.

The failure of a driver has 24 hours to produce a driving licence on the spot is in itself not an offence. It is the inability to produce it after 24 hours that is an offence.

However, the personnel have been impounding vehicle and allegedly taking bribes from drivers who fail to produce their licence there and then.

One of such personnel who illegally impounded a commercial vehicle and kept it at the station for some days has been ordered by the command to pay the daily earnings of the car for the number of days it was impounded.

The policeman(name withheld by the police authorities) is also to be transferred from the Zongo MTTU after he has paid the daily earnings of the car.

Briefing the media about the illegal acts of the personnel last Friday, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Frank Adu Poku asked the public not to pay money to policemen for failure to produce their licence when arrested “because that is illegal and should not be encouraged”.

Condemning the act, the Commander said that “much as we believe in enforcing the law, we will not sit down for the bad nuts to taint the image of the police- What is happening at the Zongo MTTU is just uncalled for”.

The command had embarked on an exercise to remove the bad nuts from the service, he said.

The Commander explained that the public out cry against the dubious deal at the Zongo MTTU prompted the command to investigate the matter.

Source: Ghanaian Times