Following news last night that the host of ‘The Citizen Show’ on Accra FM, Kwabena Bobbie Ansah, has been arrested by security forces, Ghanaians on social media say there seems to be a clampdown on free speech.
This is because not long ago, Power FM’s Oheneba Boamah Bennie was jailed for two weeks and fined GHS3,000 for contempt of court, in a case in which he allegedly made false claims against President Nana Akufo-Addo and the justices of the Supreme Court in relation to the 2020 Election Petition.
Before that, Captain Smart of Onua TV was also arrested for some utterances he had made on TV, and he’s currently facing trial for alleged extortion.
Also, Executive Director of Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), a governance think tank, Mensah Thompson, was on Thursday, February 10, 2022, granted bail in the sum of 50,000 cedis after he was arrested and charged for allegedly publishing false news against the President and the Ghana Armed Forces, although he had apologised for the claims.
In the latest arrest of Bonnie Ansah, reports indicate that the men in police uniform who picked him up after his show failed to disclose their identities.
Although no official explanation has been given for his arrest, sources say he may have been picked up over a post he made on Facebook, in which he claimed that the “current judiciary is corrupt and made up of crooks and criminals led by a corrupt Chief Justice who’s struggling to purge himself of a $5 million thievery allegation”.
What's the crime of Bobbie Ansah?#FreeBobbieAnsah pic.twitter.com/bIyuN22Oo8
— Mahama 2024 (@CitizenTechiman) February 10, 2022
Going after outspoken journalists like Bobbie Ansah, Oheneba and Captain Smart will not cow them into submission; it will rather make them heroes.
— Davis Kwame (@Kwame3Davis) February 11, 2022
Captain Smart is currently facing trial.
— Abdul-Razak Iddrisu (@Id_abdulrazak) February 11, 2022
Power FM’s Oheneba Boamah Bennie, has been jailed.
Mensah Thompson of ASEPA arrested.
Kwabena Bobbie Ansah has also been arrested by Na’l Security.
This is an attack on media freedom. Journalists are now arrested for criticising gov’t.
The broadcaster was picked up at the entrance of Class Media Group shortly after 10:00 pm on Thursday, just when his programme which airs daily had ended.
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
— 🇬🇭 #PrayForGhana ™ 🇬🇭 (@PrayForGh) February 10, 2022
Press freedom in Ghana under attack by the @GhanaPresidency and its assigns!!!
Popular radio host Bobbie Ansah picked up this night at Accra FM.
-@BBCBreaking @fourthestategh @hrw @cnnbrk @ReutersAfrica @renoomokri @UKinGhana @USEmbassyGhana @EuropeInGhana
According to a source at the radio station, it appears the men had laid ambush around the premises of the station for the host to end his programme in order for them to pick him up.
“He was ambushed. We don’t know where he is being sent to,” the source said.
Shortly after the arrest, the Producer of the show, Kwame Kwakye, came on air to announce it.
“Kwabena Bobbie Ansah, the Host of ‘The Citizen Show’ and also a staff of CMG, specifically Accra FM, has just been arrested by unknown policemen. We do not know where they’re stationed, neither do we know where they’re taking Bobbie Ansah. We don’t know what his crime is and which police station he’s been sent to. He was picked up right after ‘The Citizen Show’. He was arrested with a National Security car that had police officers in it without identity.”
He becomes the third journalist to have been arrested in recent times.
Some observers of the political space have been worried about the trend, suggesting that the government is perpetuating a culture of silence, whereas others are of the view that these actions are necessary to sanitize the system to promote responsible journalism for the peace and stability of the country.