As the December 7, 2024 elections approach, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has called on media practitioners to avoid unsubstantiated and inflammatory comments that could incite tension, violence, and breach of peace.
He said this on the back of the arrest of a Wontumi FM journalist by the police.
Oheneba Asiedu, a programme host on Wontumi Radio and Television in the Ashanti Region had said that voting would occur on different dates for various presidential candidates, a statement Dwumfour condemned as reckless and misleading.
“That was a reckless statement and we condemn it in no uncertain terms. The role of the media is to inform and educate. It is never to deceive and distort.
“Such characters must not be allowed to sit on radio and television. In fact, Wontumi Radio and TV in Kumasi has gained noteriety for unprofessional media practise and we condemn their act of professional misconduct.
“We urge the National Media Commission, who is represented here today by its Executive Secretary, to take steps to rein the station in,” he said.
Speaking at a press conference of media stakeholders in Accra on Thursday, 28 November 2024, Dwumfour emphasised the need for professionalism and caution in media reporting.
The GJA President, however, criticised the police for using Section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 to criminalise free speech.
He recalled that Ghana’s parliament unanimously repealed the Criminal Libel Law on July 27, 2001, and expressed concern over the police’s attempt to resurrect similar provisions through Section 208 and Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act 2008.
Dwumfour described this as a targeted attack on media practitioners and a threat to freedom of expression and press freedom.
“The Media Coalition has addressed this issue in the past, but the police are not retreating. The attitude of the police to weaponize the two provisions of the law to attack media practitioners is a grave attack against freedom of expression and press freedom.
“Interestingly, the police use these laws against media practitioners only. The deliberate and targeted enforcement of the law is dangerous to the development of the country,” he said.
Dwumfour urged the National Media Commission (NMC) to address these infractions and called on the judiciary not to support the police’s actions against the media.
He reaffirmed the media coalition’s commitment to seeking the repeal of these laws and protecting the rights of journalists.
“The media coalition wishes to call on the judiciary not to give effect to the attack on freedom of expression and press freedom by the police through the use of the two laws against the media. As a coalition, we will take urgent steps to get the two laws repealed,” he said.
The conference was held jointly by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), and the New Media Association (NMA).
The conference addressed several key issues, including media accreditation for election 2024 and the police initiative to station liaison officers at media houses.
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