President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed worry over the inability of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to bring closure to the murder of investigative journalist, Ahmed Hussein-Suale.
He said it was unfortunate that the police had still not been able to unravel the mystery behind the murder of Hussein-Suale, which occurred on January 16, 2019.
“Press freedom can mean very little if systematically journalists are always afraid for themselves about what they say”.
“Unfortunately for us, despite very widespread efforts made by the police and the CID, they still have not been able to lay hands on the perpetrators of Suale’s death. It’s unfortunate,” he said
Hussein-Suale, an undercover journalist and member of Tiger Eye Private Investigations, was allegedly shot three times-twice in the chest and once in his neck in his vehicle-by unidentified men on motorbikes.
President Akufo-Addo, in a meeting with the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association at the Jubilee House in Accra last Wednesday, was concerned about the inability of the police to deal with the case.
He said even though Hussein-Suale was a journalist, the police had not been able to tell Ghanaians whether his murder was in connection with the work he was doing, or other matters.
“The inability to find the perpetrators of Suale’s death continues to be a problem especially in terms of our image as far as press freedom is concerned,” he said
President Akufo-Addo said the safety of journalists in Ghana needed to be considered sacrosanct from members of the community and agencies of the state.
“We must live in a country where journalists have to feel safe to go about their work because the work they do for the country and the community is very important,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo was surprised over the devaluation of press freedom in the country despite the diversity of the media, its proliferation, and independence.
He called for journalists to be responsible in their reports and comments and verify information before they informed the public.
The President of GJA, Kwabena Dwumfuor, invited the President to be the Guest of Honour at the 26th GJA Media Awards scheduled on November 12, 2022.
He appealed to the President to support financially in the organisation of the awards.
BY YAW KYEI
