Leaked Dampare tape: ‘Confusion’ hits committee as Atta Akyea ‘disowns’ report

It has emerged that the members of the committee that investigated the leaked tape, which contained scandalous claims and allegations against the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, are at loggerheads over the final report from their investigations.

A report by Myjoyonline indicates that Samuel Atta Akyea, the chairman of the committee, has disowned the report, which has been widely circulated on various media platforms in recent weeks.

According to the report, Atta Akyea, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Abuakwa South constituency, has denied knowledge of the report, indicating that the report submitted to Parliament does not bear his signature.

Samuel Atta Akyea’s decision not to sign off on the report is reportedly due to reservations he has about the conclusions reached by the committee and the refusal by other members of the committee to concur with his motion for the invitation of more witnesses to substantiate some claims made against Dr. Dampare.

One particular case, which, per the report, was of utmost importance to Samuel Atta Akyea, is the supposed extrajudicial killings supervised by the IGP, Dr. Dampare.

In furtherance of his disapproval, Samuel Atta Akyea is reportedly preparing to present a report exclusive of the widely circulated one, during which he will make known his reservations.

Owing to this standoff between Samuel Atta Akyea and other committee members, the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh Dompreh, was stopped in his tracks on June 18, 2024, as he sought the permission of the 2nd Deputy Speaker to lay the report.

The decision was due to the fact that Annoh Dompreh did not have the approval of Samuel Atta Akyea to lay the report before the house. Kennedy Agyapong, however, was granted permission by Atta Kyea to lay the report on his behalf at a later date.

Meanwhile, excerpts of the report sighted by GhanaWeb indicate that two of the officers, Superintendent George Lysander Asare and Superintendent Emmanuel Gyebi, lied under oath during their testimony before the committee.

Superintendent Gyebi lied under oath when he appeared before the committee for the first time on August 31, 2023.

“Supt Gyebi, during his testimony under oath on August 31, 2023, denied ever speaking directly to Chief Bugri Naabu on his phone or on the phone of Supt Asare. However, when he appeared before the committee again on October 10, 2023, he changed his earlier testimony and affirmed that he indeed spoke to Chief Bugri Naabu on the phone,” part of the report reads.

The report quoted the senior police officer as follows: “And the question I quote ‘have you ever spoken to someone on Supt Asare’s phone who claims to be Bugri Naabu?’ And the answer I gave is incorrect. I answered no, and I want to change it to yes.”

For Superintendent Lysander Asare, the report indicated that the senior officer lied about his presence during a phone call between Superintendent Gyebi and Chief Bugri Naabu, a former Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who is at the centre of the leaked tape.

“Supt Asare also, in answering a question under oath posed by Hon. Peter Lanchene Toobu on September 4, 2023, on whether he was present when Chief Bugri Naabu spoke to Supt Eric Emmanuel Gyebi on the phone, responded in the negative. However, he changed his initial response to this question to the affirmative when he appeared before the Committee on October 10, 2023.”

He is also quoted as saying, “Hon. Chairman, I want to change my answer to ‘I was there when they spoke’ because at that time the question was not all that straightforward.”

The committee found the officers in contempt of Parliament under Order 30 of the Standing Orders of Parliament (2000) as revised by Order 31 (f) of the Standing Orders of Parliament (2024).