Parliament has appointed a seven-member Special Committee to investigate the leaked audio allegedly plotting against the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, and the 2024 General Elections.
The membership comprises six Members of Parliament (MPs), three from each side – Majority and Minority – and a non-MP who is a technical person to aid the committee’s work.
Representing the Majority is the MP for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea, who will be the Chairman of the Committee. The other two are Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP, Okaikoi North, and Ophelia Mensah Hayford, MP, Mfantseman.
The Minority is represented by James Agalga, MP, Builsa North, who is the Vice Chairman. The rest are Eric Opoku, MP, Asunafo South, and Peter Lanchene Toobu, MP, Wa West. The technical person is Dr. Isaac Lartey Annan, a Lawyer and human rights expert.
The House deliberated on the period to conduct their business and report back to the plenary. After hearing from leadership of both sides, the Speaker directed that the Committee to do “thorough work” and report when the House resumes from recess, which is next week.
“So, I will specifically state that the committee should submit a report by September 10, 2023,” which translates into over a month of working time.
The Speaker did not categorically mention the terms of reference to guide the committee’s work, except to say that the issues to identify were known to everyone.
The leaked audio, which went viral on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, allegedly involved a high-profile Police Commissioner and some leaders of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
URGENT STATEMENT
When Parliament sat on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, the Deputy Minority Leader, Armah Kofi Buah, rising on Order 72 of the standing orders of the House, made an urgent statement on the alleged audio.
He referred the House to the said audio and invited the Speaker to allow Parliament to go into the merits of it.
His reason was that the content of the alleged tape should be a matter of “concern” to the legislators, given that protecting the fourth republic needs to be of paramount interest.
The Member of Parliament for James Agalga, MP for Builsa North, who commented on the statement, feared that the real issue contained in the alleged tape had been brushed aside. He cited the electoral violence in Techiman South to cement his case for a probe.
He pointed out that there is a “conspiracy to undermine the sovereign will” of Ghanaians in 2024, explaining that “attempts are being made” to dislodge the current IGP for one that would compromise itself.
The former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, prayed the Speaker to order a forensic probe into the alleged tape for purposes of protecting “our democracy.”
In his view, the probe would help protect the “professional integrity” of the IGP and also assure citizens that the elections would be free and fair.
Eric Opoku, MP for Asunafo South, expressed “surprise” that “our colleagues” on the other side were not concerned about the consolidation of democracy. “I’m surprised that we are arguing over this.”
The Minority was seeking a thorough forensic audit of the alleged tape to establish the veracity or otherwise of the leaked audio. The Majority side agreed with their colleagues for the audio to be probed, a consensus that led to the decision to form a special committee, which was unveiled yesterday.
