President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante Apeatu, to proceed on leave with immediate effect yesterday.
Though David Apeatu was supposed to go on official retirement in August, his hasty departure came as a shock to many Ghanaians.
In a letter signed by Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the Presidency, Nana Addo thanked Mr. Apeatu for his many years of service to Ghana and wished him well in his retirement.
In his stead, the president named the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. James Oppong-Boanuh to act in his stead.
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Though he has been the deputy IGP for a while, many Ghanaians don’t really know who James Oppong-Boanuh is.
Below are some facts about his career and personal life
He was born in Dormaa in the then Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana in 1958.
Oppong-Boanuh is an alumnus of the University of Ghana and the Ghana School of Law. He was called to the Bar and enrolled as a member of the Ghana Bar Association in 1984.
He also holds a Masters in Human Rights from the University of Education, Winneba (2015) and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Law and Political Science from the University of Ghana, Legon (1982).
Oppong-Boanuh started his career with the Ghana Police Service in 1988, he worked as the Legal Officer at the Legal Department of the Agricultural Development Bank in Accra.
He did two years at the Ghana Police Training School and the Ghana Police Academy which included fieldwork at the Accra Central Police Division, graduating in 1990.
Between 1996-2000, Mr Oppong-Boanuh was the Senior Legal Officer at the National Police Headquarters where he advised the Ghana Police Administration on matters of law on both criminal and civil. He directed and supervised investigations by giving legal advice on case files at both investigations and prosecutions level.
He later worked in the United Nations Mission in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) in 1994 and with the United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET) from 2001 to 2002.
From November 2004 to March 2005, he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). He also served as acting Police Commissioner and head of the Police component of AMIS where he led an Advance Team to set up the Police component of the Mission from scratch.
On August 19, 2010, he took up duties as Police Commissioner to the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on 19 August 2010. He succeeded South African Micheal Fryer. At the UNAMID, he facilitated the appointment of female officers into command positions.
He is married with three children.
In October 2018, he was granted him a one-year contract service as Deputy Director-General of the Police effective October 8, 2018, to October 7, 2019, by President Akufo-Addo.
