Activist and leader of the #FixTheCountry movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has accused the Ghana Police Service of failing to provide adequate medical care for detainees, including himself. In a Facebook post, Barker-Vormawor detailed his personal experience after being taken to the hospital while in police custody, claiming the police did not cover the cost of his prescribed medications and medical tests.
According to Barker-Vormawor, when he was taken to the hospital, the police did not pay for the drugs he needed or the blood tests required for his treatment. He revealed that protestors who came to visit him were harassed by the police and asked to pay for the medications. Eventually, his brother gave 100 cedis to a Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officer to cover part of the drug costs, but the rest of the prescribed medications were never purchased.
“When the news broke that they didn’t pay for the drugs, they sent Mobile Money to Priscilla, one of the arrested protestors, to reimburse the money they took from my brother. We are ready to share the receipt of the transaction,” Barker-Vormawor wrote.
He added that, despite not receiving all his medications, he was returned to his cell. The next morning, Barker-Vormawor claimed a CID officer came to his cell and verbally abused him for making the police’s failure to pay for the drugs public. Later that day, the police reportedly paid for part of the remaining medications, but only after the situation had gained public attention.
Barker-Vormawor accused the police of attempting to cover up their negligence by suggesting that they procured the drugs in a timely manner. He granted consent for the police to share receipts of the purchases to prove their claims, challenging their narrative.
Beyond his own case, Barker-Vormawor highlighted what he described as a systemic issue within the Ghana Police Service, where detainees are frequently taken to hospitals but are left without their prescribed medications. He claimed that these actions are part of a broader pattern of neglect, citing a recent case where he had to purchase medication for another inmate who had been ill for a month before receiving medical attention.
“Let’s be clear! These issues are routine and systemic,” Barker-Vormawor emphasized. “When it comes to me, they act as if all this is strange and new.”
He also accused the police of unlawfully detaining suspects without bringing them to court, recalling a confrontation he had with the police over an individual who had been held for two weeks without a court appearance because a CID officer insisted the suspect should confess first.
Barker-Vormawor concluded his post by questioning whether Ghanaians care about the truth regarding these abuses, calling out the Ghana Police Service for issuing what he referred to as “laughable press statements” to cover up their actions.
The activist’s claims come amid growing public scrutiny of the treatment of detainees by law enforcement in Ghana.
By Jeorge Wilson Kingson || ghananewsonline.com.gh