Time for apolitical, independent professional police force – Arthur Kennedy

US-based Ghanaian medical doctor and leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr Arthur Kennedy has said Ghana needs an independent and professional police force.

Dr Kennedy’s comments come on the back of the recent arrest of protestors during the ‘occupy Julorbi House’ protest by the security forces.

Dr Kennedy is of the opinion that making the police force independent will enable it to stand up to politicians when they make unreasonable demands while drunk on power.

Speaking on the Citizen Show on Accra100.5FM, Monday, 25 September 2023, Dr Kennedy said: “The police is too politicized, they are completely under the arm of politicians and it’s dangerous. We need an independent professional police force so that when the politicians get drunk on power and they make unreasonable demands, the police can stand up to the them and not only that the Judiciary can stand up to them.”

According to the leading member of the NPP, the citizenry were more confident in the judiciary under the late former President Jerry John Rawlings than they are currently.

“The courts are no longer the courts that they used to be about 10 years ago, even under Rawlings, surprisingly people had more confidence in the courts when J.H Mensah and others and the NPP went to court and won significant victory.

“These days nobody believes that can happen in the courts, that’s why John Mahama is talking about getting NDC people to be willing to take up judicial appointments, what he said was frightening but it reflects the reality of how bad things have become,” Dr Kennedy stressed.