The Gospel Evangelical Crusade and Providence Foundation (GOEVAC-PFG), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has called on the government to set up a committee to probe the circumstances leading to the premature retirement of the former Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Dr K.K. Manfo, in order to unearth the truth. According to the NGO, investigations it conducted had established that the date of birth of Dr Manfo was July 21, 1950, and not July 23, 1947 as stated by the Police Administration. At a news conference in Accra on Wednesday, GOEVAC-PFG contended that on the basis of that information, Dr Manfo was prematurely retired from the Police Service and had, therefore, been given a raw deal by the Police Administration. The NGO said if the government failed to institute a probe into the matter, the group would take the issue up at the international level and ensure that the right thing was done. It said that prior to the news conference, copies of the investigation that was conducted between January and June this year had been made available to the Chairman of the Police Council, the Interior Minister, the National Security Minister, the Chairman of the Council of State, the Speaker of Parliament and other government agencies. It also mounted an exhibition which showcased all the documents, including a photocopy of Dr Manfo's diplomatic passport which the Police Administration acquired for him when he went on a diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom and his Ghanaian passport, for journalists present to verify the dates on them. The Executive Director of GOEVAC-PFG, Rev Kwarteng Amaning, who addressed the press, said during the investigations, the NGO came across a document compiled by the Police Administration on March 1, 2003 which gave Dr Manfo's date of birth as July 23, 1949, while another one produced by the same authority on December 1, the same year; gave his birth date as July 23, 1947. He said interestingly, the dates of birth of all other top police officers from the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on the two documents were the same except that of Dr Manfo. Rev Amaning said the NGO also got the first staff list of senior police officers compiled in 1983 when Dr Manfo was an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and that list gave his birth date as July 23, 1949. He said the investigations further revealed that a 'Source Book', allegedly created by the former IGP, Nana Owusu-Nsiah, to support the purported change of Dr Manfo's birth date showed some discrepancies. Rev Amaning said some of the discrepancies recorded in the said 'Source Book' gave Dr Manfo's title as 'Dr', whereas he entered the service in 1979 with a Bachelors degree. He said as many as 12 officers out of the 29 on page 18 of the 'Source Book', including Dr Manfo, had no ranks and dates of birth against their names, although they had been recorded in the same handwriting. Rev Amaning said the investigations led to the one who compiled the 'Source Book' but declined to mention that person's name and the reasons he assigned for changing the date. He stated that the investigations also revealed that Dr Manfo had entered the public service as a teacher. He said as a teacher, according to the records at the Ghana Education Service (GES) Head Office, Dr Manfo's date of birth as given on record was July 21, 1950. Rev Amaning said the investigations followed up to the records office at the GES Headquarters, where Dr Manfo's date of birth was given as July 21, 1950, which was corroborated by what was found in the admission and attendance registers of the Kwabena Nkrumah Middle School at Akyem Achiase (now known as the Achiase Local Authority Junior Secondary School) where Dr Manfo had his primary education. He said under the Public Service Order Act, ACT 252, no public servant could change his birth date for his appointment. Rev Amaning said the team also spoke to Dr Manfo's elder cousin, Madam Comfort Amoako Atta, who confirmed that Dr Manfo was born in 1950 and not in 1947 as was being portrayed by the Ghana Police Service. Rev Amaning said she had explained that she was at least two years older than Dr Manfo, saying she was now 59. Source: Daily Graphic