My tweet on Oliver wasn't intended to incite Ghanaians – British High Commissioner

The British High Commissioner to Ghana Harriet Thompson says her tweet on the recent arrest of Oliver Barker-Vormawor over road traffic offense was not intended to incite Ghanaians as the Police response suggests.

The Inspector General of Police in a strongly worded statement said the High Commissioner’s tweet amounted to interference in the internal security matters of Ghana.

“We consider your tweet on Oliver Barker-Vormawor’s arrest for traffic offenses a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” the Police said.

Reacting to the Police, the High Commissioner told GHOne TV her comment was not received as intended.

“That was not the intention, and my experience, Ghana is peace loving nation where people have the right to express themselves, they do have the right to come out to protest against things that matter to them. A tweet like that will not get Ghanaians on the street in my view. It looks like my tweet wasn’t received as it was intended. I didn’t expect a response from the IGP at all.

“If I was told there are chances like that I will not be tweeting like that that’s clearly not my intention but I haven’t seen anything like that for the time I’ve been here that will suggest his response,” she told GHOne News on Tuesday May 31, 2022.

The opposition NDC has however condemned the reaction of the Police to the tweet.

“The IGP’s regrettable and misguided letter has the tendency of jeopardizing the enviable cordial bilateral relations between Ghana and Britain.

“Ghana and the UK have shared strong friendly bilateral relations and official communications must avoid tones and language which are considerably discourteous, offensive and needlessly provocative,” the NDC disclosed in a release signed by its General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia.

He continued: “The IGP’s rather ill-advised attack on the British High Commissioner for being meddlesome in Ghana’s internal affairs appears rather far-fetched, particularly considering the significant fact that the activist of interest is a student in the UK, and that matters of human rights are universal and cardinal.”