I’m an NPP member – COP George Alex Mensah

The Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, George Alex Mensah, has admitted being a sympathiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) but not a card-bearing member.

He made the admission when he appeared before the special committee looking into the leaked audio recording that had some persons including himself ostensibly plotting to oust the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

The Commissioner of Police (COP) was concerned a transcript of the audio recording said he was a long-standing member of the NPP.

He drew the attention of the committee that that portion had been edited because he remembers saying he was rather a long-standing member of the United Party (UP) tradition.

But when questioned by member of the committee Eric Opoku about his affiliations to the ruling party, COP Alex Mensah admitted that he is an NPP member “but I am not a card-bearing member”.

He also expressed suspicion that promotions within the Ghana Police Service was party-based.

“Mr chairman, it is not supposed to be,” he stressed when asked to substantiate this.

He said some of them had to wait for nine years to get their promotions while others like the current IGP, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, got promoted too early.

He suspected that it was because the IGP’s party was in power.

He mentioned that this phenomenon may not be existent currently but was rampant between 2008 and 2016.

COP Alex Mensah, who is currently on leave pending retirement from active service, had described the current IGP as the worst “we’ve have ever had”.

“What I said yesterday if you give me the chance today, I will say so again,” he told the committee on Friday, September 1.

“He is not managing the [Ghana Police] Service well. For me, for the 31 years that I have been in the Service, I can tell you he is the worst IGP we have had.”