Inspector General of Police (IGP), George Akufo-Dampare, has stated the Ghana Police Service is not against prophecies but how they should be communicated in order not to create fear and panic.
According to him, it is cruel during prophesy to put fear and panic in people, their immediate and extended families and the entire country at large.
He said, “What we are saying is nobody knows what language God speaks and so who interprets it?”
The IGP stated these when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as part of the team of the Interior Ministry, which took its turn at the public sitting on Thursday January 19.
A member of the Committee had asked whether giving prophecy is banned in view of the activities of charlatans who make all sorts of claims about citizens.
He stated that members of the Ghana Police Service are deep seated Christians who do not joke with Godliness and warned they will not therefore allow anybody to use God to create a mess and confusion and warned, “God is not a god of confusion and God is not a god of disorderliness.”
Citing himself as an example, Mr. Akufo-Dampare indicated that before he became the IGP nobody prophesized about him, however, immediately he assumed the top job of the police, he became the subject of all manner of prophecies from all kinds of ‘prophets’.
He argued that he does not really have a problem because he is a public figure but questioned why if God has revealed something about him, those claiming to have received such information make it a subject of showmanship and pronounce it to the whole country that he will die.
“Of course, I’m not afraid to die but you go and make such an announcement to the whole world and I have a wife, children, parents and family members.”
“So, if I usually wake up at 3am every day, the day I overslept till 5am, my wife will be thinking I’m dead and this is something she is going to live with for the rest of her life.”
“Why has God Himself decided not to tell us when we are going to die? It means a lot,” he said.
IGP Dampare noted that even if there is truth in such prophesy about someone dying, this could be communicated in the typical Ghanaian way by putting it in a proverb for the subject of the prophesy to decipher the information.
He observed that members of Parliament for instance, have been elected by law to make pronouncements and questioned who appointed these so-called prophets over his life to just get out there and make such pronouncements.
He said, “I’m not a member of your family; I’m not a member of your church and probably the person being prophesized about might not even believe in God.”
He wondered how these self-acclaimed prophets could meet and think about people outside their circles who are not relatives, friends or church members and yet be able to get revelations about them and share these out to create fear and panic.
Responding to another question on scammers who create social media profiles using names and pictures of politicians to defraud people, Mr. Akuffo Dampare indicated the sim card registration using the card will help the police effectively fight this crime.
According to him, the lack of efficient addressing system in the country makes it difficult if not impossible to track such criminals.
He advised politicians and high-profile citizens to be conscious of their personal security and stated the way they communicate on phone in public without being careful of the environment also expose their personalities to scammers.
He assured the police and other security agencies are doing the best and appealed for support from MPs and the Ghanaian public to understand security matters better and help and cooperate with the police.