Hello Chris-Vincent,

I do not know how to narrate this story, but also there is no way I can keep silent about it. Not being a resident who resides in Ghana, for years when I hear people preach about corruption in Ghana, I took it lightly (being naïve), but with what happened to a friend, I can now understand that the type of corruption people are complaining about is not a level one, either is it a level two or three, but rather something that has become a mindset and a culture of our people in power.

This incident happened two weeks into my arrival in Ghana for my short internship. Upon my arrival, I stayed in one of Accra’s shall I call it decent hotels in an area I will only give a couple letters of the name “Abe”. Everything was going well, until a big incident happened that completely made me loss trust and respect for Ghana police in that area, I mean I believe it is probably not the only place in Ghana such things happens, but these people blew my mind with their actions. I went out and was asked by the receptionist to check my room to see if everything was in order as I have left it.

My friend asked me to check my room and I arrived in my room with everything completely in order, (thank God). I rushed to ask what had happened and my friend (receptionist) explained to me that some people who were blind whom I have had several encounters with and are in Ghana to host a program have had items stolen.

The type of stuff am talking about are passports, laptops which contained important documents, iPhones, money and many more. They reported incident to the police. The police arrived within an hour, asked the receptionist what had happened in which he told them; he had just started his shift and that only two gentlemen had returned their hotel keys since he started working.

The police went up to look at what had happened, came back and arrested the receptionist. I asked the police officer what charges he was arresting the guy for, what evidence have they gotten against the guy that he is the one who did the stealing and why has he not read him his rights. The policeman in awe, was shocked at someone questioning his actions just as Chris-Vincent’s article “Opanin is Always Right….in My Back Side” reported. No one questions the elderly.

With my plenty questions with no reasonable answer, the officer who did not even show his badge, yet was not wearing his uniform, got annoyed and arrested the receptionist. The receptionist later narrated what had happened and that was when I was shocked. They took him in and presented him with the option of either buying them credit for their phones or him going to jail. He had no choice so he claims he spent about 50GHC on the people at the station.

Shortly the people who had taken the mobile phone credit money left and the new people in charge were also demanding something. He left the next day having spent about 70GHC. These police officers had no empathy for these blind people who were traveling the next day and needed their documents. These policemen did nothing, no taking pictures of the room…NOTHING!!!! The incident was also their chance to make money (HOW PATHETIC).

So I ask, where is the passion and love to work? How can we constantly preach of the good news, the new Ghana we want, when the people in power who are supposed to set examples constantly break the laws we have themselves?

Our leaders for generation have started a trend, a norm, a culture that is not questioned anymore. Citizens of Ghana are obeying them; the youths are seeing and learning. The infected roots holding the tree down is slowly spreading to the other part of the tree. WE ARE OUR OWE WORST ENEMIES and if we do not cut down the infected trees, we should stop preaching about changing Ghana to anything better than we have now!

From: Sandra O.

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