Samuel Atta Akyea, the chairman of the ad-hoc committee tasked to investigate the leaked tape on the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo-Dampare, has provided some insight on the need for an in-camera hearing with the witnesses regarding the leaked tape.
According to him, the in-camera hearing is an opportunity for the committee to filter out the substance of the leaked tape which is already in the public domain.
“In fact, what is filtering out of the committee’s investigation is a second tape. Because there is the first one which I will want to call the leaked tape that Armah Kofi Buah spoke about in parliament and on the basis of that, the referral was made, a committee was constituted and given some remits to go ahead and do it.
“When we sat, and we were touching the preliminary issues. I was very surprised that people were talking about the fact that we should have started everything in-camera, I felt that it does not afford with common sense. Because the tape which Armah Kofi Buah spoke about had gone viral,” he said.
Explaining further, the chairman of the committee stated that it is the in-camera will also help the committee to shield the public against very serious allegations that were made on the tape and also by witnesses who appeared before the committee.
“Now there is the necessity to fish out and substantiate what is on the tape which will bring certain matters which are very serious and might have national security implications.
“So, where in our discretion where we think that it is for public conversation, Why not? But where we think, if this thing should come out, it will hurt National Security, we will not have it in the open,” he explained.
To him, the decision to accept the option for an in-camera hearing is to protect the common will of Ghanaians.
“So that we don’t hurt the common will,” he noted.
Reacting to the U-turn made by the police after announcing the interdiction of the senior officers, Samuel Atta Kyea noted that it would allow the officers to testify freely and without compulsion.
“What we have on paper is very simple and it is that the individuals who have appeared before us are no longer under interdiction which will give them the liberty and the free will to testify,” he added.
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Chairman of the ad-hoc committee on the IGP leaked tape, Samuel Atta Akyea