Ernest Owusu-Poku hails from Kenyasi in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana.
[1] Owusu-Poku joined the Ghana Police Service in July 1965.
He has been seconded to the Ministry of Interior in the past where he coordinated duties of some security agencies including the Police, Immigration, Prisons, Fire services and the Narcotics Control Board.
He was the secretary to the Justice Archer Commission into Police affairs between 1997 and 1999.
On starting his first term as President of Ghana, John Kufuor asked Peter Nanfuri to proceed on leave and Owusu-Poku was then appointed in his stead as the new IGP.