The government has strongly rejected allegations that it is involved in a coordinated effort to attack journalists, following claims made by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) at a press conference earlier this week.
Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Communications Director at the Office of the President, in an address to the media on Wednesday, February 19, described the accusations as “regrettable” and misleading.
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Tuesday appealed to President John Mahama to take a personal interest in cases of attacks on journalists in the country.
The association said such an intervention would ensure the arrest and prosecution of suspects for their crimes.
Read also: GJA appeals to President Mahama over cases of assault on journalists
The GJA had claimed that seven journalists had been attacked since the president took office, and suggested that these incidents were part of a broader pattern of hostilities towards the media.
According to Kwakye Ofosu, the GJA narrative suggested that the government was behind these attacks.
He consequently refuted the claims, saying that the narrative being pushed was unfair to President Mahama, the government, and even the journalists involved.
“It is a most regrettable narrative. We do not think that it is fair to President Mahama, it is fair to government, it is even fair to the GJA or even to the journalists who are reported to have been attacked,” he stated.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu also noted that after discussing the issue, an agreement was reached for a direct meeting between the government and the GJA to take place early next week.
He expressed hope that the meeting would help address any concerns raised by the media association.
The Communications Director also expressed dismay at the way the narrative had been framed, saying it created a misleading impression about the government’s actions.
He pointed out that the press conference by the GJA had presented the situation as if certain journalists had been targeted for reporting on issues that the government was unhappy about, which he categorically denied.
“That is completely incorrect, it is not true and nothing of the sort has happened,” Mr Kwakye Ofosu said.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu further explained that when he met with the GJA president following the press conference, the incidents referred to in the press conference involved isolated events, none of which could be attributed to any coordinated action by the government.
These incidents included scuffles during a recent Council of State election, where some journalists were reportedly removed from the venue, and a situation involving journalist Erastus Asare Donkor, who had allegedly been set upon by illegal miners while covering their activities.
“When I inquired from the GJA president, he mentioned instances where at a recent Council of State elections, there were some scuffles and some journalists were roughed up.
“We also talked about Erastus Asare Donkor who purported to have been set upon by some illegal miners when he went there to cover their activities,” he noted
Mr Kwakye Ofosu emphasised that these were instances involving individuals acting unlawfully and did not reflect any deliberate attempt to target the media.
“But these are incidents involving persons who are acting unlawfully,” he remarked
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