World Press Freedom Day 22: Ghanaian Journalist  Lives ln Danger Under  NPP Administration

United Press for Development Network (UPDN) believes Ghana is rapidly regressing and threatened by the arrest and detention of journalists and Civil Society who speak out against government officials in recent months.

Twenty-one years after the repeal of the Criminal Libel and Sedition Law, the government now pursues critical journalists using the Criminal Code and the 2008 Electronic Communications Act, this is very unfortunate.

In a statement signed and issued by the National Organizer of the Communication Bureau Mr. Kelvin Malor, the statement noted that Kwabena Bobbie Ansah, an Accra FM presenter, was arrested on 10 February in Accra, on a charge of "publication of false news and offensive conduct" for posting a video on social media claiming that President Nana Akufo-Addo's two wives fraudulently obtained state land to build the headquarters for a foundation. According to the police investigation, this assertion was false.

It noted that Oheneba Boamah Bennie, a journalist with Power FM, was sentenced to two weeks in prison and a fine of GH¢ 3,000 in Accra on February 8 for "contempt of court" in connection with a video posted on Facebook in which he allegedly insulted the president by claiming that, after his reelection in 2020, the president met with eight judges to sway their decision in a legal challenge to the election result brought by his main rival.

According to the statement, Mr. Blessed Godsbrain Smart, a well-known journalist who works for Media General's Onua TV/FM, was detained on February 2 in an alleged extortion case, the details of which the police have not revealed. Smart was arrested for the second time in less than three months, despite his reputation for being a harsh critic of the government.

Other Assaults:

It added that on 3 February, Eric Nana Gyetuah, a reporter for Connect FM, a radio station situated in the western city of Takoradi, was attempting to record a group of inmates when he was assaulted by the police, who handcuffed him and took him to the police station. With damage to his eyes and mouth, as well as a ruptured eardrum.

It said on January 13, 2022, a group of about 12 thugs raided the offices of Radio Ada (93.3 FM),  a community radio station in the Greater Accra region, assaulting two of its journalists and vandalizing equipment.

 It indicated that the radio station's crime was broadcasting a series of programs about the Ada Songhor Lagoon project, which is being mined by Electrochem Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of the McDan Group of Companies, which resulted in this unwarranted life-threatening violence.

According to the statement, a reporter was assaulted by a business manager in the western city of Sunyani in January, while a reporter was assaulted by supporters of one of the teams during a football match in January.

In the last few years, it noted that journalists and members of the media have been subjected to vicious assaults. Attacks on journalists are a concern and a threat to press freedom as well as freedom of speech and expression. They impede the right to information since they tend to restrict information access and dissemination.

The statement pointed out that the state has a responsibility to ensure the protection and adequate safety of the media and journalists, and violence against journalists is completely unacceptable.

According to the statement, the journalists may be intimidated by these attacks, which may lead to self-censorship while covering potentially dangerous stories. The current police force and government have failed to investigate these crimes, provide a safe atmosphere for journalists, and prioritize their protection.

'After thirty (30) years of experimentation with this constitutional requirement, it is clear that a strong democracy requires strong and independent media outlets to inform citizens, foster constructive involvement, and hold public authorities accountable.

"Continuing to operate with impunity will only heighten the dangers to journalists, suffocate the freedom of information, and usher in the culture of silence (the dark days)," the statement concluded.