Governance expert Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah has weighed in on the removal of former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, expressing regret over how the situation was handled.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, he argued that once it became evident that the president was going to replace Dampare, the former IGP should have taken the initiative to retire.

“For me, my regret for Dampare is that once it became obvious that the president was going to drop him and it had been going around for weeks, if not months, he should have retired and then gone to the president to discuss why,” Prof. Agyeman-Duah stated.

Acknowledging Dampare’s long service to the nation, he highlighted the challenges within the police force, particularly regarding promotions and internal grievances.

“The man has served this nation for 35 years in the service,” he noted.

According to him, the police service operates under a system where seniority and promotions play a crucial role, and this reportedly posed difficulties for Dampare’s leadership.

“In Ghana, especially in these institutions, there are two things that seem to matter most: the ‘seniority syndrome’ and how one gets promoted. In the police service, there have been grievances over promotions, and this has been a major challenge for Dampare,” he explained.

Addressing criticisms that Dampare favored certain officers for promotion, Prof. Agyeman-Duah suggested that these decisions may have been based on performance rather than favoritism.

“People complained that he was promoting his friends, but maybe these were just better-performing officers,” he said.

He also pointed out that leadership changes in security institutions are often influenced by political considerations, as new governments prefer to work with officers who align with their vision.

“Any president coming to power would like to have top officers who align with his vision of leadership. You cannot step down from IGP to become a director of something. That’s like stepping down from Chief Justice to become a member of the bench,” he remarked.

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