President John Mahama has confirmed that Ghana National Fire Service personnel involved in the assault of a Class FM journalist have been identified and interdicted.
The announcement came during the President’s visit to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) on Tuesday, where he strongly condemned the attack.
“I’m a journalist by training, and so there’s no way we can countenance the continued assault on journalists,”
President Mahama stated, emphasizing that violence against media professionals has no place in a democratic society.
The President disclosed that the government has initiated engagement between the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and security agencies to address the incident and prevent future occurrences.
He stressed the need for a shift in attitude among some security personnel, highlighting the complementary roles of journalists and security officers.
“We need a reorientation of many of our security personnel to understand that just as they are doing their job of providing peace and safety, journalists are also doing their job of informing the people,” Mahama explained.
“They’re not antagonistic to each other. Indeed, they’re both serving the same public.”
While acknowledging that such incidents may occasionally occur, the President insisted they must be met with decisive action.
“When they come, they must be dealt with as firmly as possible,” he said.
He confirmed that disciplinary measures are already underway, overseen by the Minister of Government Communications.
“The officers have been identified. They’ve been interdicted, and an investigation is ongoing,” President Mahama stated.
“But we won’t countenance assault on journalists.”
An official investigation into the assault continues.
