Nana Peprah (right) were among five journalists attacked while covering Council of State elections in Ghana. (Photo of Oppong, courtesy of Gifty Sarhene; Photo of Peprah: GhanaWeb)
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Ghanaian authorities to swiftly investigate February 11’s attack on five journalists covering Council of State elections in the southern Ashanti Region and ensure the press can do their jobs without fear of reprisal.
“Journalists play a critical democratic role in reporting on elections, yet this duty to inform is jeopardized by attacks on the press that too often occur with impunity in Ghana,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “Ghanaian authorities must find out who was behind the assault on five journalists and electoral officers in Ashanti Region and ensure those responsible are ultimately held to account.”
CPJ spoke to the five journalists:
- privately owned GhanaWeb correspondent Gideon Nana Peprah
- privately owned Angel Broadcasting Network reporter Gabriel Kwasi Oppong
- privately owned Lawson TV producer Charles Awuah Mensah
- Oyerepa Radio and TV reporter Kofi Adede
- privately owned Oseikrom Dawuro newspaper editor Henry Attah Kotei
The journalists said they were covering electoral officers counting votes when at least 14 unidentified men attacked the officials, destroyed ballot papers, hit and slapped the reporters, seized their phones, and deleted their footage.
The journalists said police officers attempted to stop the attack without force but failed, and Kotei and Mensah were saved by bystanders who pleaded with the attackers to let them go.
All five journalists received medical treatment at a hospital for their injuries, which included a cut to Peprah’s upper lip and a cut above Mensah’s left eye.
Peprah reported the attack to the police and the Ashanti Regional Police Command said that it will bring those responsible to justice, according to the nonprofit Media Foundation for West Africa.
National police spokesperson Grace Ansah-Akrofi did not reply to CPJ’s calls and text messages requesting comment.
