Attacks on journalists: Gov’t must sanction, not just condemn — Effia MP

The Member of Parliament for Effia, Isaac Boamah-Nyarko, has urged the government to go beyond issuing condemnations and begin sanctioning security officers who attack journalists.

He said the frequent assaults on journalists under the current John Mahama-led administration have been met with repeated statements of condemnation, but no clear punitive actions have followed.

Mr. Boamah-Nyarko cited the lack of progress on a case involving a journalist who was slapped by a police officer during the rerun of the Ablekuma North parliamentary elections, despite the officer reportedly being interdicted.

Speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily show on Thursday, July 31, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP said the government’s inaction is emboldening further abuse against the media.

“If people are not being sanctioned, and we are not being told the kind of sanctions, then why wouldn’t people even go in and do worse? We are seeing it worsen by the day,” he said.

The Effia lawmaker questioned the outcome of government-ordered investigations into previous incidents, stating that journalists and the public deserve transparency and accountability.

“From February to date, how many condemnations haven’t we received? Out of the condemnations, what has been government’s steps to punish those who have acted in that way?” he quizzed.

“Didn’t the police interdict the officer pending investigation? Are they telling us they have not concluded investigations from a footage that all of us watched?” he further asked.

He also criticized some journalists for what he described as indifference, claiming that political appointments have compromised the resolve of some media practitioners.

“I’m really surprised about you, the journalists — the way you are allowing these things to go and behaving as if nothing is happening. Journalists are being given political appointments left and right, and the first party that should be speaking up should be them,” he stated.

This comes after Carlos Carlony, a reporter with Accra-based JoyNews, was allegedly manhandled and picked up by military personnel while covering the demolition of a warehouse belonging to business mogul Dr. Daniel McKorley.

He was taken to the National Security Blue Gate and later released the same day on Wednesday, July 30.