A letter from the Ghana Police Service to the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson, has been condemned as "regrettable and misdirected" by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a statement, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, urged the British High Commissioner to "learn to stay within the bounds of what concerns you."
This follows Harriet's tweet after FixTheCountry Movement Convener Oliver Barker-Vormawor was detained for the second time.
"Oliver Barker Vormawor, convener of the #FixTheCountry campaign, arrested again, I understand for a traffic infraction on his way to court," she wrote in the tweet. "I'm curious to see where this leads..."
The tweet, according to a forceful statement signed by Dr. Akuffo Dampare, was "misguided, unjustified, and unfair."
"Normally, the Ghana Police Service would not have reacted to statements like yours, which were clearly made from a prejudiced or misinformed perspective. However, we have learned from prior sad experience that ignoring such misinformed, unjustified, and prejudiced statements designed to destroy the Ghana Police Service's and our country's reputations has not been useful.
"For the time being, we offer a Ghanaian proverb to aid you in your diplomatic endeavors. The phrase "di wo fie asem" means "learn to maintain within the bounds of what concerns you," according to the statement.
The NDC responded in a statement, saying the IGP "should have raised his concerns about the British High Commissioner's tweet on Oliver Barker-latest Vormawor's arrest with Ghana's Foreign Minister through the Minister for the Interior so that it could be addressed through the usual diplomatic channels."
"The IGP's unfortunate and foolish letter has the potential to jeopardize Ghana and Britain's very friendly bilateral relations. Ghana and the United Kingdom have strong cordial bilateral ties, and official communications must avoid discourteous, insulting, and unnecessary inflammatory tones and language "Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the NDC's General Secretary, signed the statement.