The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has reaffirmed his ministry’s unwavering commitment to condemning acts of violence targeting media outlets.
This statement from the Minister follows recent criticism from the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) concerning his response to the assault on United Television (UTV) in Accra.
In a press release signed by Kofi Yeboah, the General Secretary of GJA, concerns were raised regarding the Minister’s failure to directly denounce the attack on UTV. The GJA characterized his response as lacking decisiveness and accused him of attempting to rationalize the assault by referencing the alleged unauthorized entry by the assailants, a detail the Minister himself had reported to the police.
Furthermore, the GJA underscored a perceived inconsistency in the Information Minister’s reaction to the UTV incident compared to a previous assault on a journalist at Dagbon FM, reportedly by an activist affiliated with the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Reacting to these claims, Oppong Nkrumah defended his position, asserting that the allegations by the GJA were unfounded. He explained that his ministry reports information as obtained from its monitoring centre and updates its stance as more information becomes available. He further clarified that the ministry’s condemnation was in line with their previous responses to attacks on media houses and journalists.
“My view is that I think we have been consistent, we don’t need to break ranks, we need to put the attention where attention needs to be put [and] that is prosecution and the courts, that we stand together with them and we use them to ensure that there is deterrence.”
