Travel Warning: Why Victims of Crime in Ghana Rarely Get Justice Ghanians Already Know & Many Don't Report Crimes

Sunday, 25 June 2023

By: TB Obwoge

Corruption you can't see it until it's too late and right upon your neck. A country which has conducted several surveys asking it's citizens how many want to leave. Some 80% want to immigrate elsewhere.

When visiting a country many westerners use travel guides, tour guides or come on group travel, you see what they want you to see.

When you travel alone, you see a side you wouldn't have before. When you don't associate with the locals you won't get a sense of what their life is like.

I always wondered why most Ghanians refused to report incidents of crime to their police. Some would say nothing will happen, others would say they didn't have time. It wasn't until I was a victim of several crimes in Ghana that I decided enough was enough, I wrote everything in a 3 paged essay. I went to the police on day 1, I was turned away.

Even though, an officer identified as Charity, who was the one I saw at CID Headquarters told me to write the report that way. Once she read it she claimed I could only report one thing at a time and each incident needed to go to a different department. This was after I spent 6 hours waiting in the police station, writing my own report and then finding a printer to print out what I had written.

On my way to the police station I was getting calls from 2 of the people whom I was reporting to the police. One an immigration officer with my physical address, the other my ex who was abusive who also knew where I lived.

That same day my ex came to my home with 4 people, 2 women who screamed at me, while 1 woman recorded the entire thing. Mary Donkor the manager of the Royal Beulah hotel, Ernest Addo his brother, Felix Ansah Addo and another employee of the Royal Beulah Hotel who was filming me.

His brother was with him and he openly threatened me that there would be a "bloodbath", I don't know how one middle aged American with no friends in Ghana against these 4 people was a fair fight. I guess them killing me would've been a blood bath of course.

In Ghana they are told if they steal something from you all they have to do is return it and there is no crime. I don't know if this is true but the police seemed to make me feel it was true. They refused to say that Ernest Addo stole 2 things that he returned to me, both were broken when he returned them. The police didn't care about them being broken either.

Here is the issue, Ghana uses a British justice system, which people who aren't British or European don't understand and they refuse to explain it to you. Another issue is Ghana police don't use computers to input police reports. Not only do they not use computers, they don't use a log book.

When I say log book, in Kenya when you file a police report they have a huge log book. Within this book they write in pen your information and give you a police report number. With this number you not only have a record of your report their police inside their police stations wear uniforms.

This isn't common practice in Ghana, most police officers in their stations don't wear uniforms. Therefore you have no idea of the name of the officer you've spoken with.

When you ask them they only give you first names, in Ghana I have Charles, Emmanuel, Ebenezer, Charity and I was sexually assaulted by Emmanuel I have no idea of his last name.

I tried to locate his name from his number, I tried to pretend to send mobile money to his phone to see the name on his phone line. The name was that of a woman named Beatrice, he's a man and his first name is Emmanuel.

In Kenya they use the same British system for courts and laws, however the glaring difference is you're given a police report number. Kenyan police officers wear uniforms with their last names when in the police stations. When you ask a police officer their name they give you a full name, unlike in Ghana.

I am sure corruption is all over the world, I just experienced a more politer and helpful police force in Kenya. Living in both countries these have been huge differences.

Once in Ghana police head officer, the assistant to the head of CID asked me what I liked about Kenya. I told him the police presence in Kenya was much more visible than in Ghana. When walking Nairobi you will find yourself walking with police officers who walk "walk a beat" much like in the United States. Even though they carry AK-47's at times it's not done in a way to make anyone feel unsafe, unless they're a criminal.

The number to your police report can be traced back to the date you reported it and the information you've given the police. In Ghana I remember clearly seeing a man come in with three 20 cedi notes in his right hand.

He handed them to the head officer who was Emmanuel, in return he gave him a police report. The man balled the report up, stuffed it into the right pocked of his black, dress pants. He thanked him several times than left.

It appeared as if he just purchased a police report, just like that it was inside his pocket. The police played around often and ended up never solving any of the issues I reported. This seems to be what Ghana police do, as their citizens know already, the country is lawless when it comes to justice of people who aren't famous or filthy rich.

The police in Ghana have yet to get back to me about anything I reported it's been one year since my police report.

Thank you for reading 🙏🏽 Please consider buying a coffee for Lacey's House efforts in Gender Equality & Children's Rights.

©️TB Obwoge 2023 All Rights Reserved