Following her tweet on the arrest of Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a Convener of the FixTheCountry Movement, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, received a four-page response from the Ghana Police Service.
The "harsh and strong-worded" message requested that the British High Commissioner "stay within the bounds of what concerns her."
"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 erroneous, unjustified, and prejudiced statements aimed to destroy the Ghana Police Service and our country's name has not been beneficial "the statement signed by the Police Inspector-General.
"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.
"To me, that feels like a stretch," Madam Thompson stated on Accra-based television station GHOne. It appears that my expressing an interest in something is a long distance from someone telling us that we must take to the streets "..
"It's evident from the response that it wasn't received in the manner it was meant. I wasn't anticipating a reaction from the IGP...commenting on a topic that is of considerable interest to a large number of people in a country is not meddling...
"I am looking forward to moving past this event and continuing to cooperate with the Ghanaian police force as well as the many other institutions with which we have very strong connections," she says.
NDC Responds
Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has branded a letter from the Ghana Police Service to British High Commissioner Harriet Thompson as "regrettable and misplaced."
According to the party, the IGP "should have communicated his concerns about the British High Commissioner's tweet on Oliver Barker-most Vormawor's recent arrest with Ghana's Foreign Minister through the Minister for the Interior so that it could be resolved through the appropriate 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.
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