The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has appealed to the Bench not to spare anyone who attacks journalist(s) in their line of duty, no matter the attacker’s political affiliation and social standing. This, he argues, was the only way the Bench could also help to stop attacks on media practitioners in the country.
The Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase-Ayirebi, was speaking at the opening ceremony of a training workshop for judges on the need to protect freedom of expression and the safety of journalists in Ho yesterday.
According to Kojo, “the wheels of justice may grind slowly, but my Lord Chief Justice, the feedback I have from my media colleagues is that we believe some quick punitive action targeted at the perpetrators of infringements against media practitioners will be appreciated. It will be the strongest message to the next batch of state and non-state actors that it is not acceptable to attack journalists no matter how much you disagree with that they say.”
The Ministry of Information, in addressing the issue of attacks on journalists, had already set in motion a number of programmes, with the objective of supporting the Ghanaian media. The engagements, since 2019, have led to the development of some key interventions aimed at supporting the media industry confront the key issues it is faced with.
First is the inauguration of the Office of the Coordinated Mechanism on the Safety of Journalists (CMSJ) under the National Media Commission (NMC). Key to the operation of this office is the development of a framework for use by all stakeholders to create a safe and conducive environment for the practice of journalism; prevent violence against journalists; protect journalists in danger; and prosecute perpetrators of violence against journalists.
The Ministry through its Media Capacity Enhancement Programme (MCEP) is also providing training for some 250 journalists on emerging issues in journalism. This forms part of collaborative efforts to support the sector which has been challenged in recent times.
The Right to Information (RTI) has also been rolled out in full. This included the training and deployment or designation of RTI officers in the almost 600 government offices nationwide. It also includes the set-up of the RTI commission which is today making impressive strides in ensuring compliance by public offices to the RTI Act.
Also, the Ministry facilitated a broad-based consultation on a new broadcasting bill which will assist state institutions better regulate the broadcasting sector.
The Ho programme is designed to deepen the capacity of judges in dealing with matters of freedom of expression and safety of journalists and reinforce their expertise towards fighting abuses against journalists by ensuring prosecution and trial of those responsible for these attacks. The training comprises of 25 judges from both the High and Appeal courts.
Also present at the event was the UNESCO Country Representative, Mr. Abdourahmane Diallo, Representative of the Chief Justice, Professor Dominic Dennis Adjei, who is also a Justice of the Court of Appeal, as well as other well-known dignitaries.
This, he explained, was because freedom of expression and the safety of journalists were fundamental freedoms and indices determining how compliant or negligent a country was relative to its constitutional provisions on these fundamental freedoms.
Prof. Justice Dominic Adjei, a Court of Appeal judge, who represented the Chief Justice, underscored the need for collaboration between stakeholders within the media space to build a more robust ecosystem that ensures that infringements on the safety of journalists are reduced to the barest minimum if not eradicated entirely.
