Audio By Carbonatix
Social media users have gone agog over the friction between the Ghana Police Service and the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson.
Ms Thompson on May 17, expressed her interest in the case of a #FixTheCountry Convener, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, following his second arrest.
In a tweet, she wrote, ”Oliver Barker Vormawor, the convener of #FixTheCountry Movement, arrested again, I understand, for a motoring offense on his way to court. I’ll be interested to see where this goes.”
Oliver Barker Vormawor, convener of #FixTheCountry movement, arrested again, I understand for a motoring offence on his way to court. I’ll be interested to see where this goes... https://t.co/iK5hZDZUln
— Harriet Thompson (@HCThompson001) May 17, 2022
But in a sharp rebuttal, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) George Akuffo Dampare asked her to mind her own business.
He stressed that “the tweet is a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 which enjoins diplomatic missions not to interfere in the internal affairs of their host country.”
Subsequently, the Diplomat said she did not expect any reaction from the IGP at all.
According to her, she meant no malice with her tweet.
“Ghana is a peace-loving nation where people do have the right to express themselves, where they do have the right to come and protest things that matter to them.
“A tweet like that is not going to be the thing that will get people onto the streets, in my view. If I had thought that there was the remotest chance of that, I wouldn’t be tweeting things like that. That is clearly not my intention,” she said on Accra-based GH One.
Netizens have not gone silent since.
As some tweeps sided with IGP Dampare, others criticised him, adding that he was "rude".
We need to recover our right to dissent in Ghana.
Dampare's long response to the British High Commissioner, should get you concerned if you care about Freedom of speech and expression.
Free speech has been one of the chief casualties of worsening situations in this country.— Marreka Ⓜ️ (@Ebenezer_Peegah) May 31, 2022
Over 98% of Ghana police officers don’t know the constitution and the protocols in this country. How can IGP Dampare can write such a rude letter to the British high commissioner?
— With All Due Respect (@cdzas) May 31, 2022
Latest Stories
-
Meet Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee, the Ghanaian Gender Advocate helping couples overcome infertility stigma
2 minutes -
Oil pulls back as traders look for progress on US-Iran talks
48 minutes -
The proposed imposition of a 0.75% fee on Mobile Money-To-Bank transfers raises serious concerns regarding fairness, financial inclusion, and the underlying principle of interoperability within the digital financial ecosystem
49 minutes -
Trump raises refugee ceiling by 10,000 to bring in more white South Africans
55 minutes -
One killed and others missing after chemical explosion at US paper mill
1 hour -
First Ghanaians set to be repatriated from South Africa over anti-immigrant protests
1 hour -
Deliver or be questioned – Majority Chief Whip warns OSP
1 hour -
Crime is everywhere – Dafeamekpor slams OSP’s Accra-centred operations
2 hours -
Don’t be cocooned in Accra – Dafeamekpor pushes OSP to invade districts
2 hours -
Free sanitary pads and pad bank Initiative cut teenage pregnancy in Bosomtwe – Girl Child coordinator
2 hours -
Asunafo North Municipal Assembly deploys DL-Rev Software to tackle revenue shortfall
3 hours -
General Mosquito promised to ‘annihilate’ NPP – Dafeamekpor reveals details of earlier tour
3 hours -
Asiedu Nketia has been touring since 2021, not plotting new campaign, says Dafeamekpor
3 hours -
Apple, Google push for judicial oversight in Canada online safety bill
3 hours -
Micron joins $1 trillion club as AI race powers memory chip boom
4 hours