Godfred Dame and IGP James Oppong-Boanuh
The new Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has given the Inspector General of Police (IGP) one week to present a confidential report on the increasing spate of spousal murders in the country.
In less than a month, about five people mostly women have been killed by their partners, sparking outrage and demands for intensified campaign against domestic violence.
The AG gave the directive when the IGP, Mr. James Oppong Boanuh, and some top officers called on the minister at his office in Accra on Monday evening.
“The spate of fatal domestic violence is coming up again and we need to collaborate to stem the tide. We need an audit of all such cases and take practical steps to ensure the successful prosecution of those involved,” the AG told the IGP before asking him to file a confidential report on the status of each cases at his office within one week.
The AG told the IGP that the significant number of unresolved murders contributed to insecurity among the people and cited Ahmed Hussein Suale’s case as an example of an unresolved murder.
He said that a resolution of that case would let the public ascertain the real cause of his death, adding that many people had assumed that Suale’s death was in the line of his professional work but said it could also be possible that it may well not be the case.
“A completion of investigations and unraveling of the full circumstances of his death will assist the public in knowing the real motive of the killers or what led to his death,” he said, and also gave the Director General of CID one week within which to present a confidential report on investigations so far.
He commended the police for the quality of investigations in the Takoradi girls kidnapping case, which helped the AG to secure conviction, and indicated that “I would be rewarding the state attorneys who conducted the trial.”
The AG said the country was beginning to witness what he called “unconventional crimes” in the nature of secession and treason, and said there was the need for the police to boost their capacity in the investigation of such crimes, as it was only when solid dockets were built that sound and effective prosecution could be done, as was witnessed in the Takoradi Girls case.
He reiterated the constitutional mandate of the police vis a vis that of the AG, and said the functions of both institutions made them “inevitable partners in the prevention and prosecution of crime.”
IGP Response
On his part, the IGP said the CID had “made progress” in their investigations of many of the unresolved murder cases in the country.
In respect of the recent upsurge in domestic violence cases, he stressed on the need for the country to have a rethink about how such cases were treated, saying “traditionally people think that spousal abuse should be normal. In some communities, people think it is an expression of love but that is so wrong and has to change!” he stressed.
He encouraged victims of spousal abuse to not hesitate to report to the police so that such cases would be reduced in the society.
Present at the meeting were Director General of CID, COP Ken Yeboah; Director General (Legal), COP Kofi Boakye; and COP Edward Tabiri and Director General (Public Relations) Sheila Kesse Abayie Buckman.
The AG was supported by Solicitor General Helen Awo Ziwu, Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora-Obuobisa and the Chief Director of the ministry, Suleman Ahmed.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio