True Fighters of Press Freedom: The Real Story Behind GJA’s Premature Party

Last night, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) threw a party – except they celebrated World Press Freedom Day a day early. For many of us in the media, it wasn’t just odd. It was tone-deaf.

Let’s be fair: the senior journalists who received awards earned them. These are men and women who have risked their lives, reputations, and livelihoods to hold power to account. The applause is well-deserved.

But the timing? Suspicious. Unprecedented. Unexplained.

In all my years as a GJA member, I’ve never seen such a move. And without any clear reason, it raises eyebrows: Who decided to bypass the globally recognized date? And more importantly – why?

Then comes the real elephant in the newsroom: how were the awardees selected? What were the criteria? Who sat on the vetting panel? And – let’s not be shy – who was left out?

This isn’t just about scheduling. It’s about trust.

The current GJA leadership seems adrift. Detached from its own history and purpose. Once the neutral voice of Ghanaian journalism, the Association now feels more like a PR agency, swinging from one power center to the next. They got cozy with the last government – and seem eager to switch beds again.

Before this facade becomes our new normal, let’s remember the real icons of press freedom:

Kweku Baako Jnr.
Haruna Attah
Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo
Affail Monney
Anas Aremeyaw Anas
Manasseh Azure Awuni
And those who paved the way but are no longer with us:
Tommy Thompson
Eben Quarcoo
Edward Ameyibor
Kofi Badu

None of these names made the honours list. Why?

Sources say several senior journalists were either snubbed entirely or received invitations at the eleventh hour. That’s not clumsy – it’s calculated.

Coming events cast their shadows before them, our elders often say. Many of us will recall the controversy that characterized the GJA elections about three years ago that brought the current Albert Dumfuor administration into office.

There were serious allegations of vote buying and campaign malpractices. In fact, an aggrieved faction went to court on the matter but later decided to avoid litigation in the interest of giving remorse, reconciliation, peace, and harmony a chance. That does not appear to have happened, with less than two months until the next GJA elections.

I find it rather mysterious that an administration full of members who virtually deserted the then GJA President, Affail Monney, when he was working so hard to draw the world's attention to the murder of Tiger Eye journalist, Abdul Suale, are today masquerading as champions of press freedom who deserve to award press freedom prizes.

At the time of Suale's killing, they argued that the GJA needn't indulge in expressing outrage nor cry to the world over the heinous murder and tragedy because Suale was then not a member of the Association, even though his boss, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, was. Members of the current GJA Executive did not appreciate the fact that when a person dies in the course of duty as a journalist, outcry against the murder is even more important – to raise alarm against the heinous violation of press freedom and grievous attack on the journalism profession – than to authenticate the membership of the deceased in the professional association.

The GJA must wake up. Its silence is costing its relevance. Its decisions cost its credibility. If there was ever a time to hit reset and reclaim its soul, it’s now

The writer is a concerned paid-up member of the GJA