President John Mahama has announced that officers of the Ghana National Fire Service involved in the assault of a Class FM journalist have been identified and interdicted.
The President confirmed this development during a visit to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), where he
condemned the attack and said violence against journalists has no place in a democratic society.
“I’m a journalist by training, and so there’s no way we can countenance the continued assault on journalists,” President Mahama said.
“We’ve been in touch with the Ghana Journalists Association on these issues. We’ve put them in touch with the security services.”
President Mahama said there is a need for a change in attitude among some security personnel, noting that journalists and security officers play complementary roles in society.
“We need a reorientation of many of our security personnel to understand that just as they are doing their job of providing peace and safety, journalists are also doing their job of informing the people as to what is happening. They’re not antagonistic to each other. Indeed, they’re both serving the same public,” he explained.
He acknowledged that such incidents may occasionally occur but insisted they must be handled decisively. “When they come, they must be dealt with as firmly as possible,” he said.
President Mahama revealed that the Minister of Government Communications is already handling the issue and confirmed disciplinary action has been taken.
The said incident occurred on Monday, January 5, while Addo was covering a fire incident at Kasoa New Market in the Central Region.
Reports indicate that the journalist was attacked after officials allegedly tried to prevent him from filming the fire scene.