The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mubarak, has assured that his ministry will investigate the reported assault of a journalist from GHOne TV by a police officer during the parliamentary rerun in the Ablekuma North Constituency.
The incident occurred on Friday, July 11, at the Church of Pentecost, North Odorkor Polling Station 2, one of 19 polling stations involved in the rerun. It allegedly took place when the journalist attempted to access the inner perimeter of the voting centre to cover the electoral process.
Though Minister Muntaka indicated he had not yet received a full briefing on the incident, he pledged to take appropriate action once the facts are established.
“Since it involves a journalist and a police officer, we will be happy to know exactly what happened, and if there is something that needs to be done, we assure you that the right thing will be done,” he stated.
He gave the assurance during a joint inspection of security arrangements at the polling stations with Defence Minister Dr. Omane Boamah.
The assaulted journalist, Agyekum Banahene, told Citi News’ Fauzu Masawudu that the police officer singled him out and asked him to leave the premises, despite other journalists being present at the same location.
“He just approached me and asked me to leave the premises. Meanwhile, there were other media guys around, but he didn’t ask anyone else to leave,” Banahene recounted.
Minister Muntaka also warned that anyone found fomenting trouble during the election, regardless of their status or identity, would face the full rigours of the law, reaffirming the government’s commitment to ensuring the peaceful conduct of the rerun and safeguarding the rights of all stakeholders, including journalists.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service, in a press statement, has interdicted the officer after a widely circulated video showed him assaulting the journalist.
