Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, emphasized that his ministry has consistently condemned attacks on media outlets carried out by individuals affiliated with political parties.
These comments were made in response to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), which expressed disappointment with Oppong Nkrumah’s statement regarding the assault on United Television (UTV) in Accra.
In a statement by GJA’s General Secretary, Kofi Yeboah, it was noted that the Minister did not directly condemn the attack on UTV.
The GJA criticized the Minister’s statement for lacking decisiveness and for seemingly justifying the attack by mentioning alleged unauthorized entry by the assailants, especially when the Minister himself had reported the incident to the police.
The GJA also pointed out the disparity in the Information Minister’s response to the UTV incident compared to a previous incident where a journalist at Dagbon FM was assaulted by an NDC activist.
Oppong Nkrumah defended his stance, asserting that the GJA’s allegations were unfounded. He clarified that his ministry reports information as received from its monitoring center and updates its position as more information becomes available.
He further stated that the ministry’s condemnation of such incidents is in line with their past 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.”
