Joy FM & Manesseh Lied To Ghanaians

The Videos about the so-called Militia group training at the Christianborg Castle (De-eye Group), was actually taken from the Group leader's Facebook Walls, not taken by Manesseh in his investigation.

There are some facts about the issue of the so-called militia group being trained at the Christianborg Castle (De-eye group), which Joy FM and its investigative journalist, Manesseh, claim it took them six months to produce through a painstaking investigation. That's a huge lie. The documentary was mischievously prepared by Manesseh, sensationally aired by Joy FM, to create fear and panic, to divert attention on some pertinent issues. Nothing else!

I laughed at Manesseh's claim of six months investigation at the Castle when I received the full background details. That particular claim of six months investigation by Manesseh is a palpable false told to Ghanaians.

As a matter of fact, all the videos which Manesseh showed in the breaking news documentary, were picked from the Facebook of the Leader of De-eye group, Nana Wereko.

Manesseh, only followed the group's leader on his Facebook to pick almost all the information/videos already posted in the public domain, though people did not take notice of them. He yhen joined them together to make that mischievous breaking news item.

I can categorically state that, Manesseh himself did not actually go to castle to take videos shown in his documentary report as he seeks to take credit for it.

The undeniable fact is, when this news came up, the NPP members panicked, and took wrong angle to defend the matter without showing much concern to what aspect was likely to be pertinent concern to Ghanaians. The party members strategically did not direct the argument on the matter, only defended it from wrong point of view, helping Manesseh to gain credence for his video.

In Ghana, we have always heard allegations of the NDC and NPP camps training some party members at some secret locations, therefore, the training of party vigilantes or "militias", as he put it, was not going to news in Ghana.

In Manesseh's video, what was obviously going to be an issue, was the fact that the De-eye group was seen using the state facility, specifically Christianborg Castle, which the former seat of the President, for the private meetings and training.

Now here's the details I got.

Yesterday, I received a call from one of the close friends of Nana Wereko, who is the leader of the De-eye group.

He said to me that, Peter, you know what? Almost all the videos joined together and shown in Manesseh's claimed investigative documentary report, were actually already posted on the Facebook by the De-eye group leader himself, using it to brag about their activities, so as to attract more people to join their group

This, advertising on his Facebook.

The group leader, Nana Wereko is not my friend on Facebook, so I quickly searched his name on Facebook as described, to find out for myself and I indeed found him on Facebook as well.

I saw a young heavily-built energetic looking fella.

However, at that time, the group leader, Nana Wereko has already removed all those videos from his Facebook walls since Manesseh's breaking news about their activities came up, just as his friend also confirmed same to me that he has removed the videos. I believed his friend.

Yes, I believe his friend that the guy himself posted all the video because, if you critically watch the video in Manesseh's report, and assess the position of the person who filmed them, clearly, you can see that the person did not hide himself to take videos. The person was authorised to take videos, and obviously was seen by all taking the videos of their activities.

If this is the case, how could Manesseh claim to have taken six months to carry out the investigation with videos taken? That claim is a lie.

Again, looking at how close the person taking the videos was, he could even get very close to the trainers to capture their voices clearly. Meaning the person took the videos not with hidden cameras, and was not unauthorised.

The friend said, the videos in Manesseh's report, including the ones showing some De-eye group members attending some events, going into and sitting in the conference hall, were all once upon a time, were posted on the group leader's Facebook wall.

He emphasised that, Manesseh only picked those videos one by one, all from the Wereko's Facebook, as the backgrounds of where the meetings/trainings where taking place at Christianborg Castle.

Preparing his report, Manesseh again picked the location address as posted on De-eye website, indicating Christianborg Castle as their headquarters or their location.

From the above background given and in my view, Manesseh only needed to join the videos picked from the Facebook, join them together and make his breaking news with the intention to deceive and lie to Ghanaians.

Therefore, why on earth should Manesseh and Joy FM, portray a picture to Ghanaians that, they have done a painstaking investigation into the De-eye group activities at castle within six months? That is palpable lie, aimed to bamboozle Ghanaians.

To me, the Joy FM and Manesseh credibility is seriously at stake as far as this report with headline "Castle Militia group" is concerned. It doesn't illustrate the mettle of emulative professionalism.

In all these brouhaha, the only person who has done extremely well in the matter, trying to defuse the lies and direct the argument to help Ghanaians understand the issue, is the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, with his calmth explanations and probing questioned asked as his press conferences.

The Militia Group tag was mischievously infused in the report by Manesseh and Joy FM, knowing that the news about a state facility being used by the "De-eye group", would create disaffection for the NPP govt. Nothing else!

Though understandably, the unlawful use of the state facility (the Christianborg Castle) was likely to make the argument quite difficult for the govt, but not the militia tag infused for their mischievous purpose. Clearly, there was absolutely nothing militia about the people we saw in the video.

That fiendish reportage was only aimed to deceive and create unnecessary fear and panic.

Again, what makes Manesseh's investigative report so impish and maliciously calculated to create confusion in the minds of Ghanaians was that, looking at the timing and the mischievous intention attached, to release the video to kill a story involving their National Chairman, Ofosu Ampofo, is glaringly intriguing.

Moreover, from the Minister of Information press conference yesterday, which clearly gave the background of the De-eye group evicted from the Castle since Aug 2018, it raises a huge question about the motive of the video shown today by Joy FM.

The vivid information by the Minister, indicating when the De-eye group was evicted from the castle premises, has not been challenged up till today by either the Joy FM or Manesseh himself.

Indeed they cannot challenge the Ministers detailed information because, the actual filming of the training/meeting was not done by Manesseh himself. He simply lied to have investigated the matter.

They only took the videos from the guy's Facebook wall, joined them together just as obtained, but since the group's l eviction from the Castle in Aug 2018, Manesseh has not had any new videos stemming from the Castle, and therefore either himself or Joy FM could not have challenged the Minister of Information's details.

To me, am sure there is nothing in the issue reported by Manesseh and Joy FM. Only lies to deceive Ghanaians.