The Ghana Journalists Association is demanding immediate action an accountability as a rising tide of violent attacks on journalists and media organizations goes unresolved.
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has reported 13 cases of assault on media workers from January to October this year alone, including physical violence, gun threats, petrol bombings, and cyber attacks.
Despite the severity of these incidents, not a single case has been resolved, and arrests remain scarce.
Sympathizers of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) were involved in three of the nine distinct incidents recorded, while unidentified attackers were responsible for another three.
The Greater Accra Region bore the brunt, with four of the incidents recorded there.
Notable attacks include the chilling gunpoint threat against Erastus Asare Donkor of Joy FM in October by individuals linked to Edelmetallum Mining Resources Limited, a petrol bomb assault on Accra’s Class FM in April, and a cyber attack that crippled the investigative platform The Fourth Estate shortly after it published a story on corruption within the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat.
“These escalating attacks create a dangerous environment for journalists, fundamentally undermining media freedom in Ghana,” the GJA said in a statement dated Saturday November 2,2024, calling for accountability on this International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.
The GJA’s call to action coincides with the United Nations’ 10th annual commemoration of the day, established in response to global impunity in cases of crimes against media workers.
The GJA urges the Ghana Police Service to prioritize the swift investigation and prosecution of these cases, calling for “far greater commitment from all state actors.”
GJA President Albert Kwabena Dwumfour will join international journalists and advocates at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa from November 6-7 to mark the day and press for concrete protections.
