The Ministry of Information (MoI) last Friday condemned the assault on Citi FM/Citi TV reporter during the vetting of Odododiodo parliamentary candidates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Accra.
“The ministry condemns in no uncertain terms the subjecting of Journalists or media houses to any form of harassment, intimidation, or attack simply for doing their work. Journalism is not a crime,” the sector minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, noted in a statement issued on Friday.
The minister urged Citi TV/FM to formally report the incident to both the Ghana Police Service and the National Media Commission (NMC) for appropriate action to be taken against the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on its part, is demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of the NDC thugs who assaulted a Citi FM/TV journalist.
The journalist, Akosua Otchere, was covering the vetting of NDC parliamentary aspirants for the Odododiodio Constituency on October 13, when chaos broke out.
According to media reports, she was assaulted and her phone seized by a group of irate NDC youth.
A statement signed and issued in Accra over the weekend by the General Secretary of GJA, Kofi Yeboah condemned the attack on Akosua Otchere in the line of duty, and called on all Ghanaians as well as the international community to condemn same.
“What happened at the offices of the Greater Accra Regional Branch of the NDC on Friday, was an act of insanity that must not be allowed to fester in our body politics, and so we urge the police to act swiftly to arrest and prosecute the thugs to help sanitise the political space, especially in respect of assault on media practitioners by political actors,” it noted.
Despite the condemnation of the act by the NDC’s regional and national leadership, the statement said, the GJA would not countenance attack on any journalist.
“While waiting for action beyond the rhetoric by the regional and national leadership of the party, the GJA wishes to serve notice, with deep ink, to political parties and the general public that henceforth, any assault on journalists and the media shall be repelled with the strongest weapon we can marshal,” it added.
The statement said the GJA and its legal team would meet the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) today to discuss pertinent matters, including the recent attacks on the Citi FM/TV journalist and UTV.
“The GJA will go every length under the law to deal with political actors and individuals who may attack journalists as we gear up for the 2024 electioneering,” it noted.
The statement called on political parties in particular and other stakeholders to educate their members to refrain from attacking journalists and learn to channel their grievances, if any, through the appropriate avenues as promulgated by the rule of law and practiced in civilised state.
The GJA urged journalists and media practitioners never to be intimidated by such attacks but rather “we must defy them and always stay faithful to the public interest.”
“The media will continue to serve as a bridge between the government and the governed, and no individual or group will be allowed to destroy that bridge, no matter the tactics they may employ,” the statement added.
BY TIMES REPORTER
