The Ghana Police Service has been fined GH¢100,000 by the Right to Information (RTI) Commission for failing to comply with the commission’s directives. The fine was imposed after the police refused to grant an applicant access to requested information, as mandated by the RTI Commission.
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa, had sought information regarding the status of cases involving police brutality. Despite addressing the request to the Inspector General of Police, the Police Service completely disregarded it, ignoring the applicant’s right to information.
In a statement, the RTI Commission expressed its concern over the respondent’s failure to make decisions on the applicant’s request and their disregard for the commission’s letter. The commission emphasized that such behavior by the respondent is not acceptable, as it violates the right of access to information enshrined in Article 21(1) (f) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, as well as Act 989.
As a consequence of these actions, an administrative penalty of GH¢100,000.00 has been imposed on the Ghana Police Service. The service is required to make the payment to the commission within 14 days of receiving the decision. Failure to do so will result in an additional default penalty rate of 10% on the principal penalty sum for every additional 14 days of delay.
