The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has threatened to impose a nationwide media blackout on all police-related activities if urgent and decisive action is not taken to address recent assaults on journalists.
The warning comes in the wake of over 10 violent incidents involving media personnel, including the assault of a GHOne TV reporter during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun on July 17, and a separate attack on July 30 involving JoyNews reporter Carlos Calony, his cameraman, and an eyewitness, allegedly by armed military officers during a demolition exercise at Spintex in Accra.
On February 11, some journalists were also assaulted in the Ashanti Region during the Council of State elections for the region. On 27th May, another journalist was during a protest by the NPP over the detention of the Party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, July 31, GJA President Albert Kwabena Dwumfour condemned the incidents in strong terms, describing them as unacceptable and dangerous to the country’s democratic fabric.
He warned that if the Ghana Police Service fails to act decisively within seven days, the GJA, in consultation with key stakeholders, will direct all media houses to cease coverage of police activities.
“If the Ghana Police Service fails to act decisively within the next 7 days, the GJA, in consultation with key stakeholders, will announce a nationwide media blackout on all police activities. Instruct our members to withhold coverage of police events and editorial engagements with the police,” he declared.
“This is not a threat, it’s a necessary action to defend the integrity and safety of every Ghanaian journalist,” he added.
The GJA is demanding immediate investigations and sanctions against all officers involved, stressing that continued attacks on journalists undermine press freedom and threaten public accountability.
