Journalist In Trouble Over Blackmail

The Ghana Journalists Association, Wednesday, said (GJA) it has referred an alleged bribery case involving a reporter of Accra FM, Nana Okyere Gyampa, to the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) of the Police.

The reporter who allegedly demanded five million cedis from the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) as a condition for dropping a negative story against the Company.

A statement issued by the GJA, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the decision followed initial investigations and interrogation of the reporter by the GJA at the Press Centre, on Tuesday, Nov 13.

During the hearing, it said Nana Gyampa admitted that it was unethical for him to have demanded the money from the MD.

The statement, signed by Mr Affail Monney, the President of GJA, said

Nana Gyampa did that in WhatsApp messages to the MD, in order to compel him to end alleged malpractices at the ECG.

'Nana Gyampa could not tell whether he had cross-checked the information he had or not,' he said.

'After the interrogation, Nana Gyampa again sent a WhatsApp message to the MD, on Wednesday November 14, in which he threatened to go ahead to publish the damaging stories against the ECG boss as a punishment for leaking to the GJA the five million cedis demand he had made.

'The Association finds the behaviour of Nana Gyampa, before, during and after its investigation as unrepentant, arrogant, reprehensible, unacceptable and a clear breach of Article 10 of the GJA Code of Ethics, which states that, 'a journalist does not accept a bribe or any form of inducement to influence the performance of his or her professional duties.'''

The CID must, therefore, investigate the case further and allow the law to take its course, the release stated.