The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has endured public backlash following the assault on a journalist last Friday by some of its supporters at the Greater Accra Regional office.
Some days after the assault on the CITI FM/CITI TV journalist, arrests are yet to be made, and the police have remained tight-lipped.
Subsequently, there are calls on the party and the Ghana Police Service to fish out the thugs and make them face the law, a demand that was also made when thugs invaded the UTV studio.
It is not clear what actions are being taken, as the police have yet to inform the public about investigations into last Friday’s incident.
INCIDENT
According to a Citinewsroom report, there was chaos at the Greater Accra Regional office of the NDC when some supporters vandalised party properties to register their displeasure.
Amidst the pelting of stones, the vetting committee was accused of unfairness over the vetting of the parliamentary candidate hopefuls for the Odododiodio Constituency.
During the unrest, Akosua Otchere, a journalist with CITI TV/CITI FM, who was covering the vetting, was attacked by some NDC thugs. According to the report, her hand was twisted and her phone snatched for filming the destruction of properties, including chairs, and the pelting of stones.
CONDEMNATION
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) for the Odododiodio Constituency, Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, and the Ministry of Information are some of the professional groups and individuals who have come out to condemn the act.
Signed by the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, a statement issued on Friday condemned “in no uncertain terms the subjecting of journalists or media houses to any form of harassment, intimidation, or attack simply for doing their work. Journalism is not a crime.”
The statement urged the station to formally report the incident to both the Ghana Police Service and the National Media Commission for appropriate action to be taken against the perpetrators.
The MP for the Odododiodio constituency, who is not seeking a return to Parliament, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, indicated that the angry supporters had no legitimate reason for their dastardly, unfair, and unjustifiable actions, which must not go unpunished.
“I have had a meeting with the Regional Secretary, the Regional Treasurer, the Deputy Treasurer, and the Office Administrator and told them to evaluate the cost of the repairs that needed to be done, and we are also recommending the party takes drastic action against those that were caught on video engaging in that dastardly act.
“They don’t have any legitimate reason for doing what they did because the party has legitimate channels by which you can seek redress if you are not happy with any process in the party, and I don’t see why you should vent your anger on poor chairs and individuals who virtually have nothing to do with what is happening in Odododiodio, and their reasons are totally unfair and unjustifiable.”
ARREST
The GJA, in a statement, condemned the attack on the journalist, describing it as an act of insanity that must not be allowed to fester in the body politic of the nation.
The General Secretary of the GJA, Kofi Yeboah, urged the “police to act swiftly to arrest and prosecute the thugs in order to help sanitise the political space, especially in respect of assaults on media practitioners by political actors.”
Though the NDC has also issued a statement condemning the incident, the GJA said in its write-up that it was waiting for action “beyond the rhetoric” by the leadership of the NDC.
ACTION
Meanwhile, the NDC, in a statement, apologised to the media house over the assault and promised to “fish out” the perpetrators, subjecting them to the full rigours of the law.
The National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, who signed the statement, distanced the party from the act, which he described as irresponsible and at total variance with the identity of the NDC.
