Hajjia Fati: Her "Brimstone" On Press Freedom, Mothers Day

BARELY half of two weeks now – since Friday May 4 – popular Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist, Hajjia Fati has been in the news for causing a stir.

She assaulted a female journalist by smashing her phone and slapping her at a time the journalist was in the line of duty.

Whether Hajjia was Right or Wrong, this act of dehumanisation has been widely condemned by a number of media discussants and social media users in Ghana.

And watching from Norway, what gives a deafening impetus to the development of the occurrence is that Hajjia in aftermath interview, describes the female journalist victimising her assault with all the impunity that she (Hajjia) thought her victim (the Journalist) looked like an “Onion Seller”, hence meriting the slap.

As if she knew, she would have swallowed it up because this assault aftermath interview Hajjia grants to the media peddling in the “Onion Seller” labelling, crystalizes into deeper woes on not only the Onion Seller class but all Women or Mothers in Ghana.

Well, she has finally shown remorse by personally apologising. Her lawyer, Nana Obiri Boahen had earlier apologised to the female journalist, her media station (Adom fm) and her employers (the Multimedia Group Limited) while both the Acting General Secretary of her party (the NPP), John Boadu and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs & Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu have also done same.

She had since been arrested by the Police at Nima, Accra and granted bail pending investigations into the matter.

As to whether she has been forgiven is one thing and the other side of the coin is as to whether the victim and her advisors would not seek the face of the law in such professional grenade.

However, the interesting berth of this running story happens in between two Special Occasions in Ghana: Celebration of World Press Freedom Day and Mothers’ Day.

And this could be described as “brimstone” akin these two important celebrations.

The umbrella media body, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has threatened to pursue the matter in court after it was joined by the Association of Women in Media among many media groups and related agencies interested in seeking justice to condemn the attack.

Press Freedom Day & Mothers’ Day
The assault on the journalist has been recorded just a day after Ghana hosted the celebration of World Press Freedom Day (May 3) though the celebration was launched on May 2 and running news about the assault which became popular in media circles and social media pores was just a few days ahead of Ghana’s celebration of Mothers.

If nothing at all, Ghana has been ranked by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as the First Country with High Press Freedom in Africa while ranked 23^rd among 180 countries in the World with much respects to Norway as the First Country on Press Freedom in the World and sister Nordic countries occupying important positions in the world ranking.

As if these were folktales, Hajjia Fati on May 4 assaulted the journalist, trampling upon her press freedom while in the line of duty.

The Journalist, Ohemaa Sakyiwaa had been at the NPP National Headquarters to cover the Picking of Nomination Forms by prospective national officers of the party.

I have listened to both Hajjia Fati and Ohemaa Sakyiwaa from my base in Norway and their own accounts show that Hajjia created a hostile scene, trying to prevent a prospective national officer of the NPP, Sammy Crabbe from picking the nomination forms with brute force and scene was NEWS to every good journalist including Ohemaa Sakyiwaa.

After, if any member of the NPP picking forms to contest national position does not merit the picking, party Constitution or the Law must be sought.

So, the journalist doing her job found this development news worthy, hence decided to capture Hajjia but knowing her sinister actions, Hajjia thought her “evil deeds” – that’s taking the law into her hands to prevent a party member instead of resorting to legal or legitimate means – would be exposed in the media, hence the assault.

Unfortunately for her, the assaulted rather aggravated the news about this “evil deeds” which the media has a role to inform the Ghanaian society – if nothing at all, to inform is one of the three core functions of the media as in (to inform, to educate and to entertain mass media receivers).

Indeed, this was an affront to journalism practice and at a time Ghana was carried high as number one on press freedom in Africa, such occurrence has been a big setback.

Apart from that, the assault shows that Hajjia was not being a Mother. This is because every good mother cares of her children to the extent that even if the female journalist had done something wrong or was not being professional, as a good Mother, she would need to resort to legitimate means of dealing with the journalist rather than the attack.

And that her action could also be a brimstone to this year’s May 14 celebration of Mothers’ Day.

Mothers do not act on impulse like Hajjia did, they have compassion for everybody, especially when the victim she assaulted was also a woman or “Mother”.

Mothers do not disrespect an “Onion Seller” or a particular person but Naturally, Mothers respect everybody irrespective of their status in society and these are all part of why Hajjia failed to be a Mother ahead of Mothers’ Day, hence the brimstone phenomenon.

The writer is a Ghanaian Journalist, Communication Consultant & Social Media Analyst based in Norway