THE ASSAULT
If it is true that NPP Member of Parliament Isaac Edumadze picked on Daily Graphic Central Regional correspondent, Joe Okyere, as a scapegoat for losing his party’s primary, thus losing the opportunity to retain his membership of the House and the status that goes with it, he need not worry any more about status.
By the assault on the journalist, whether he ordered his staff to beat Mr Okyere or he himself participated in the assault, one thing is clear: the MP has catapulted himself to everlasting infamy globally.
By the singular act of what from all accounts appears to have been an unprovoked, savage attack on Mr Okyere, Mr Edumadze, former Central Regional Minister, has won for himself a place in the global media hall of notoriety.
The reason allegedly given by the MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam for the beating is that Mr Okyere has been writing 'negative' reports about him. If that is true, one must ask: has Mr Edumadze never heard of the ‘Right to Rejoinder’?
But he is an MP so he is deemed to know about it because it is in the national Constitution: 'Any medium for the dissemination of information to the public which publishes a statement about or against any person shall be obliged to publish a rejoinder, if any, from the person in respect of whom the publication was made'.
If Mr Edumadze felt that Mr Okyere had not been fair in his reportage, why did he not simply write rejoinders to the Graphic to correct any wrong reportage or challenge any 'negative' stories?
He could also have complained to the paper’s Editor, or even to the Ghana Journalists Association.
Mr Edumadze has been a Regional Minister before so he has been a father of a region. As an MP he is a father to his constituents. And as an MP he is expected to be a role model.
If he is setting the example that disagreements are to be settled by physical assault, or by ‘might is right’, then why is he in Parliament, championing rule of law and making good behaviour laws for the rest of the society to obey?
If the MP is really worried about negative stories abut him, one would suppose that it is because he cares about his image.
But surely, the way he has gone about it is not the best way to present himself in a good light to the public. Indeed it is the worst possible way that he has chosen.
He can be sure that by now most of the global media watchdogs would have picked up the story of the savage assault and are documenting it in their files and reference works.
In fact, he has undoubtedly guaranteed himself a prominent place in the next compilations of such bodies as ‘The Committee to Protect Journalists’ and ‘Reporters without Borders’, the organisation that compile for global distribution attacks on press freedom and journalists.
These, will of course be in addition to actions to be taken by national media bodies such as the GJA and the National Media Commission against the unprovoked and brutal attack on a journalist who was only doing his work.
In effect, some would say that the MP has chosen the worst possible way to present himself to the public and he has nobody to blame but himself for his negative image.