Retrieving pick-pocketed items in Accra, Ghana - Part 2

So I woke up on Monday March 11th happy that I had found my bank and ID cards. I really missed my Stanford Card. I didn't have to have to deal with calling Bank of America for new ones. I wanted Dominique Mark to help me find the stolen S2. I told the story to a couple of friends and marked my time till I would call my policeman friend, Alfred, to join the meeting with Mark later that day. What if Mark wanted to collect more money from me? The police just had to be there. Alfred knew someone at the CID at Nima Police Station and he would join me. I could only meet Dominique Mark after 6pm.

If you are confused about the paragraph above, please see Part 1.

Okay you're back. Oya, leggo.

Dominique Mark didn't send me any more Facebook messages to ask when we would meet, ask if I was serious about getting my cards back, etc. Up till today, he still has no post on his Facebook wall. I would also be confused as to what to write on it. Earlier in the day, I couldn't help thinking about Ghana was frustrating me. That's blog material for another day. Back to Mark. I worried that if I didn't see him this day (Monday), I might never see him. But I couldn't go see him alone. I was distracted, I had work to do, other people to go see, communication with Alfred, etc. But I remained calm.

While talking to Alfred around 4pm, he said he was unable to reach his CID friend. ɛdeɛbɛn asɛm ni!?? So now, I had to go to the Nima police station to find someone. I called Mark, and he said he could meet me at Paloma (on Ring Road) in 30 minutes to 1 hour, which would be around 6:30 7 7:30 (you know). To be Frank, I was getting a bit uneasy. What if he's really called Frank? Just kidding. Anyway, I rushed to the Nima police station and asked to speak to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). I was introduced to one of the Inspectors and I began to tell the whole story. This and that. I will write a whole blog post on "dealing with the police in an investigation" but I'll weave a few of my interactions with them into this series. The inspector (who remembers Inspector Bediako? and wanted to be him when he/she grew up?) and the DCP dissected my story with me. The dissection made me antsy. Mark was marking his way towards Paloma.

After coming up with a plan of action involving me and 2 policemen, we set off for Paloma. I was going to go meet Mark, and the 2 policemen would be close by watching our activities, ready to swoop in in case anything. Would you get scared in this situation? I won't tell you half of the things that were running through my mind. Even when I remain positive most of the time. I called Mark to meet me in the bar at Paloma but he insisted we meet at the gate. I wanted to meet him inside the bar so that if things got a little messy, he couldn't escape easily. That's when I thought, I shouldn't have allowed him to choose the location, I should be doing that. The police told me to let it be and we were progressing towards Paloma. I was so observant throughout that 233 metre drive from the police station to Paloma. Wouldn't you?

We drove past the Paloma gate to pack and I had seen 2 gentlemen standing near the gate. We drove a little further, the 2 policemen got down and then we reversed to park closer to the gate. I got down and walked to the security man at the gate, asking if I could stand there to wait for someone. He said no, and asked me to step out of the compound. As I was doing that, 1 of those gentlemen approached me and asked, "Are you Ato?" "Yes, I am". He must have seen what I looked like from Facebook. Dominique Werner, though am sure her real self will be as fine as hell, had no pictures on her account. And then he came and handed me a white envelope. I opened it. I could believe my eyes. My Bank of America cards, my GT bank card, my Stanford ID, my Voters' ID card, my California State ID, and a couple of random cards were all in there. Burbank, California. Did Dominique live in California because my ID card said I lived there too? Burbank then Stanford no be close o! I was shockprised that all the cards were in there. I couldn't find my MIT card but I thought, hey, maybe it wasn't in there. I was going to thank Dominique Mark and discuss further with him until.... wait for it .... you guessed it .... the police came to arrest him.

Suspended.... check back for part 3. True story o!

But what do you think? Should the police not have arrested him? Does he seem innocent? Why did he just come and hand me the envelope and didn't ask for anything?

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— Mighty African (@mightyafrican) March 14, 2013