(MFWA/IFEX) – On 10 November 2006, in Ada Foah, located in the Dangbe West district of Ghana’s Eastern region, some 27 journalists were heckled and mistreated by armed policemen while covering a press conference. The policemen, numbering about 13, consisted of members of a special “Buffalo Unit” in Tema, a city adjoining Accra, as well […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 10 November 2006, in Ada Foah, located in the Dangbe West district of Ghana’s Eastern region, some 27 journalists were heckled and mistreated by armed policemen while covering a press conference.
The policemen, numbering about 13, consisted of members of a special “Buffalo Unit” in Tema, a city adjoining Accra, as well as local officers.
One of the journalists, Patrick Fynn, a photographer for the “Daily Graphic”, told MFWA that his digital camera was seized and destroyed. Fynn said some of the policemen held his shirt and heckled him for about 15 minutes before seizing his camera.
The journalists had gone to Ada Foah to cover a press conference organized by landowners to discuss a state-owned salt project. The landowners sought to state their position on the administration of an Interim Management Committee to manage the project.
Fynn said 13 of the policemen, led by an Inspector Kyei, indiscriminately arrested the organizers because they failed to provide the police with five days’ prior notice regarding the press conference. According to Fynn, the police could not produce a warrant of arrest on demand. This resulted in a heated debate between the journalists and the policemen.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has condemned the incident and has petitioned the Ministry of the Interior and Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“The GJA is extremely concerned about the latest incident, especially as it was carried out by the police, and condemns it in no uncertain terms.”
The police have since launched an investigation into the incident.
MFWA is deeply concerned about the frequent attacks by non-state actors on journalists in Ghana. This year alone, more than six incidents have been recorded, with no arrests made. Scores of other violent incidents and threats have been meted out to journalists by individuals and groups.
