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The authenticity of the audio under investigation by the seven-member Parliamentary committee has been disputed by one of the three police officials who are believed to have participated in a conversation that discussed a scheme to depose the Inspector General of Police.
Although he could recognize a voice that sounded similar to his own, Ghana Police Service Director-General and Commissioner of Police (COP) George Alex Mensah stated he was confident the audio had been altered.
He made the claim yesterday when he went before the committee to respond to inquiries regarding the accuracy or otherwise of the recording that had leaked.
“This is an edited tape; there are so many things in that tape that I heard today that I do not remember, and there are certain things I remember that we discussed that are not on the tape,” COP Mensah said.
COP Mensah responded, “I identify some voice that resembles my voice, but I cannot specifically say that this is my voice,” when Samuel Atta Akyea, the committee’s chairman, asked if he could identify the voices on the recording.
He responded, “exactly; somebody has doctored my voice,” acknowledging that he was aware that Mr Naabu had recorded the conversation, which had taken place at his (Mr Naabu’s) office across from the Osu Police Station and his house in Dansoman. Mr Atta Akyea asked him if he was impugning that someone had altered his voice.
When James Agalga, the committee’s vice chairman, questioned him about what in the recording he believed to be real, COP Mensah responded, “Mr. Chair, the audio I heard is the edited version of the conversation that we had.
“As I sit here, I cannot tell you from the first minute to the last minutes of all those things that were in the audio for me to reproduce to you what is genuine and what is not genuine,” he said.
He referred to an earlier request made to the committee by his attorney, Kwaku Owusu Agyeman, to obtain the original tape so they could review it before responding to questions, saying “as I sit here, if I recollect everything that was said in the audio, then I would be lying.”
The committee’s chairman, who appeared dissatisfied with COP Mensah’s responses, ordered the tape to be replayed for him and his legal team. Then, the chairman inquired if COP Mensah wanted to contest the uninterrupted, logical flow of their interview with Mr. Naabu.
“I hear a voice that sounds like mine, but I cannot accept the entire conversation,” COP Mensah declared.
“Mr Chairman, I would not deny the flow of conversation.
The Commission of the Police (COP), who was overheard purportedly plotting to oust Inspector General of Police (IGP) George Alex Mensah, has acknowledged calling Dr. George Akuffo Dampare “not correct.”
COP Mensah stated that he does not regret making the statement and will repeat it again if necessary while testifying at the public hearing on the leaked recording in parliament on Thursday, August 31, 2023.
He claimed that many Ghana Police Service officers are dissatisfied as a result of the IGP’s move.
“Honourable chair, I would not deny that fact today, tomorrow or the next day. It is something, I would not run away from. I would say it everywhere, anywhere that I go.
“And you can do your own investigations, call police officers, underground and find out from them,” he said after he was asked by the vice chair of the parliamentary committee investigating the leaked tape, James Agalga, whether he said “this IGP is not correct”.
He continued by saying that the present IGP’s actions and inactions, which he claimed could have a negative impact on the results of the 2024 elections, prompted him to make the comment.
“My worry was and is that the majority of police officers are not content right now. And it is these same individuals who will oversee election security. Also keep in mind that police officers, their wives, children, parents, and moms all vote. That worries me,” he remarked.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
