COP/MRS. Maame Yaa Tiwa Should Be At Peace With Herself In These Times

At last, the Ghana Police Service and its Criminal Investigations Department, through a press briefing read by the acting Inspector-general of Police, Mr. James Oppong Boanuh has authoritatively confirmed that the kidnapped Takoradi girls are dead. This comes after the Police as part of their investigations into the kidnappings of the girls, raided an uncompleted building which was previously occupied by Samuel Wills, the prime suspect in the kidnappings involving the girls and found skeletal remains which were suspected to be those of the girls.

After a DNA test was conducted on the skeletal remains which were suspected to be those of the girls, the Police have finally concluded that the skeletal remains were actually those of the kidnapped girls at press briefing held at the national Police Headquarters here in Accra. The press briefing has resulted in public outcry, mixed-reactions and uproars against the Ghana Police Service and its Criminal Investigations Department with heightened calls for removal or resignation of COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah, the head of the CID. There had been intense pressure on her to resign her position since the girls went missing and her subsequent press conference held to bring back the girls and unite them with their families.

My point of departure is the heightened calls for removal of COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah though we need to sympathize and empathize with the families of the kidnapped girls. We need to understand the pains of the families of the kidnapped girls , their anger and frustrations because it is very normal to react like that as humans if we should find ourselves in their shoes. Some of us will even over react more than how the families of the kidnapped girls are reacting because no one celebrates and rejoices over the death of his or her loved one. In circumstance like this, we all get shock at first and even deny that our loved one is dead but as time goes on, we accept our fate and comes to terms with it and so we must understand the families of the kidnapped girls. Hopefully, time will console and heal them.

We can't also fault the public with their outrage and reactions against the Ghana Police Service and its Criminal Investigations Department. Though I believe that the incensed passions and sentiments to call for the removal of COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah from the CID as the boss is partly politically motivated engineered, we still can't blame them. They have every right to do so per their level of information and understandings in these kinds of matters. Most at times, these kinds of issues are not properly communicated to the understanding of the ordinary man and so people make a lot of unguarded statements against the Police Service particularly by the politicians whose interest is always to score political points with matters like these. What makes matters worse is the media space which is flooded by some people who call themselves security experts and analysts who have no idea about criminal investigations but have been given media platforms to mix up the issues in the airwaves. I must also commend few ones like Adam Bonaa and others who are trying to straighten up the issues.

The Ghana Police Service has two necessary evils which make their very difficult - the media and the politicians and until such a time that the Ghana Police Service learns to manage the pressure from the media and relate to the media confidently on their own terms and conditions, the Police Service will forever remain a subject of public redicule if we are quick to please the media and politicians. Until such a time that Ghana Police Service learns to ward off unnecessary interferences of the Politicians in the course of their work, the Police Service will continue to be vilified and unwantomly attacked by the general public. This kidnapping case should actually be a long learning curve for the Ghana Police Service going forward and we should also bear in mind that scandals of this nature will always come but it depends on how we collectively manage them as a Police Service.

Is it really about COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, the head of CID to resign? Is that really the wish of Ghanaians? The fact is that COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah will not remain the head of the CID forever. She will definitely leave that position someday so it is not really about one person who is currently the head of the CID. It is rather much more about the whole Ghana Police Service to communicate all the missing links and dots which is creating doubts and disbelieve in the minds of well meaning Ghanaians apart from those who are being politically mischievous with these matters of the Takoradi kidnappings.

COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah too angelic to be demonized and star that brightens at dark corners. She has come under public attacks and virtuperations with most of the commentaries run in the media targeting her person but some of us urge her to remain focus. She should never be discouraged. As the head of Criminal Investigations Department, she should understand that at most times the public will come at her but if she has a clean conscience and convictions with her work, she will always be at peace with herself no matter thousands who rise against her. A lot of insults and unprintable words have been rained on her but some of us urge her to swallow all of them in good faith and be steadfast in these times. She should always see the brighter side of life with renewed hopes in these times of incensed public sentiments against her. She will prevail at the end of it all.

As far as the kidnappings and subsequent killings of the Takoradi girls are concerned, the Ghana Police Service and its Criminal Investigations Department has earned my respect and COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah has earned my utmost trust. If nothing at all under her watch as the CID boss, she has sustained investigations into the kidnappings of the girls and brought us this far though the outcome of the investigations saddens all of us. I am quite sure the story would have been very different if she had been able to bring back the girls alive. She would have proudly beat her chest high and say that she had been able to bring back the girls back as she promised but it doesn't mean she has failed as well. After realizing that her intelligence has failed despite publicly proclaiming that she knew the whereabouts of the missing girls, she didn't abondon investigations but kept good faith and maintained momentum to get into the bottom of the Takoradi kidnappings. That is the hallmark of chief investigator and something she herself should smile at it.

There are so many conspiracy theories to treat this very particular case involving kidnappings of the Takoradi girls. Elsewhere, the Police would have abandoned investigations upon realising that they can't find the girls and after 7 years, these girls will be declared dead by law. What about that? It is for this reason that I think I think that it is not about COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah resigning her position because she will definitely leave the Police Service someday but it is much more about the commitments and dedications to sustain investigations to its logical conclusion even when she is being baked publicly. It is the the strong will to sustain investigations into the kidnappings to its logical conclusion is what I am talking about. It is the first time that we are experiencing this kind of crime and so we will not have it right with a lot of things but maintainijg and pursuing investigations to its logical conclusion provides the blueprint to unravel future mysteries of kidnappings and so we have to thread cautiously with calls for removal of COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah as the CID boss.

Intelligence fail or go wrong all the time. Even the Central Intelligence Agency of America has on several occasions publicly admitted their intelligence have failed them and so it's nothing new for COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah to have confidently come out to publicly say that she knew the whereabouts of the missing Takoradi girls but later on turned out that they were dead. In other jurisdictions, what they do is that they do a little bit of honest admission to cure the mistrust of their citizens and that is what the Police Service must learn to do especially with this kidnapping case of the Takoradi girls. Curing the the mistrust of the public with little honest admissions consolidate the trust of the people in the security services especially the Police though there may be initial reactions.

The outcome of investigations is uncomfortable one. It is very shocking most especially when we were made to believe that the girls were going to be brought back alive and be united with their families but it has turned out that they are dead. Definitely the public will react and attack and vilify the Police Service and so it should not have been a mere press briefing to tell the families of the missing Takoradi girls and Ghanaians that the girls are dead but rather, it should have been full press conference to brief Ghanaians what went wrong and right as far as investigations into the kidnappings of the the missing Takoradi girls are concerned. It was an ample opportunity to tell Ghanaians why the CID boss COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah confidently came out to tell Ghanaians that she will bring the girls back to their families alive.

The press briefing should have been an ample opportunity to fill all the communication gaps and clear all doubts as far this case is concerned but once again we missed the golden opportunity to convince Ghanaians about the events and sequence of the missing Takoradi girls and its later turn of events. We have once again allowed the golden bird of time to fly away resulting increased public reactions against the Police Service and heightened calls to remove COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah from the CID as the head instead celebrating her efforts and commitments to bring this case to almost its logical conclusion as far investigations are concerned.

Even the Police Service has failed to articulate its successes as far as this case is concerned giving room for it to be publicly rediculed. Whereas I empathise and sympathise with the families of the kidnapped girls, I stand with COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah. She such a heroine who has been abondoned in these times when all her intent and purposes was a goodwill towards the kidnapped girls and their families.

Somebody tell COP/Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah I say she should be at peace with herself. Definitely the dust will settle and you will surely prevail at last.

Ahanta Apemenyimheneba Kwofie

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