Member of Parliament for Effia, Isaac Boamah-Nyarko, has launched a scathing attack on the Ghanaian media, accusing journalists of remaining silent on the rising number of assaults against their colleagues because they have been compromised by the Mahama-led administration.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Thursday, July 31, Boamah-Nyarko expressed disappointment at what he described as the media’s lack of response to growing cases of abuse against journalists, despite the serious implications for press freedom.
“I am really surprised about you, the journalists, behaving this way as if nothing is happening,” Boamah-Nyarko said, adding, “This is because journalists are being appointed. They are being given political appointments. So they have become beneficiaries of the government, and that is why they are silent on their people.”
The Effia legislator claimed the media had allowed itself to be influenced by government interests.
“If you have a smart government like Mahama, who has been President before and understands how media support helps push the government agenda, and you see the media being bought, then you must be worried.
“Why will the media allow itself to sink to 13 clear cases of assault against its own and not do anything about it?” the MP stressed.
His comments follow allegations by JoyNews reporter Carlos Carlony, who claimed he was assaulted and detained by National Security operatives while covering a demolition exercise at a warehouse reportedly owned by businessman Daniel McKorley, popularly known as McDan.
According to Carlony, soldiers on site questioned why he and his team were filming the operation. Despite identifying themselves as journalists, one of the officers allegedly struck him from behind just as he was preparing to go live.
In response to the growing backlash, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has called for the immediate arrest and interdiction of the operatives involved. He described the attack as “unprovoked, unjustified and unacceptable,” and urged the state to act swiftly to protect journalists and ensure accountability.
