Threats against environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donko were made through comments on his wife's Facebook posts.
This statement was originally published on mfwa.org on 4 February 2025.
Ghanaian Environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donkor of the Multimedia Group has disclosed that he had to flee Ghana before the country’s 2024 elections due to life-threatening intimidation in relation to his investigative reports on illegal mining, popularly referred to as ‘galamsey’.
On February 1, 2025, he recounted his ordeal on Accra-based JoyNews’ Newsfile programme, detailing the challenges that compelled him to leave Ghana. Erastus revealed that his persistent exposés on illegal mining had provoked certain individuals, who began threatening his family.
“It’s been difficult for me for some time, and at some point before the elections, after assessing my security, I had to leave the country for a while,” he stated, narrating the challenging period before his temporary exile.
Explaining further in a telephone conversation with the MFWA, Erastus said the harassment followed the publication of a report about the illegal mining activities by Edelmetallum Resources Limited. The process of exposing the company’s activities saw him and his crew detained and assaulted by the mining firm’s security.
Erastus narrated that in November 2024, someone commented on his wife’s post on Facebook, warning her to advise him to stop reporting on their illegal mining activities if she wanted him to remain with her and the kids.
“The person’s Facebook name was ChopYou. I took a screenshot of his message and sent it to the IGP, who advised that I make a formal complaint which I did to the Ashanti Regional Police Command.”
According to Erastus, he sometimes slept outside his home after noticing that he was being trailed. He said the illegal miners he was exposing were politically connected and they warned that he was ruining their party’s electoral chances.
“The threats were real and they became so intense that, in the run-up to the December 7 elections, some of my friends in the security services advised me to leave the country. So I didn’t vote in the last elections. I was outside the country,” Erastus said. He added that with the elections over, the threats have ceased.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) expresses its solidarity with Erastus Asare Donkor and urges the police to expedite investigations to uncover the person behind the Facebook account who is threatening the journalist’s family.
We further call for protection for the journalist and his family to enable him to continue his crusading reportage on the menace of illegal mining in Ghana.
