The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has followed with worrying concern the assault of JoyNews’ reporter, Carlos Calony and his cameraman, Jonas Dodzi Voegborlo, by the National Security operatives.
Carlos Calony was also arrested and detained at the National Security Head Office in Accra. The security operatives also assaulted an eyewitness with whom the journalist was engaging.
This assault incident comes a day after President John Mahama called on African governments to safeguard press freedom and the civic rights of marginalised groups at the 13th High-Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance in Africa in Addis Ababa. The president said democracy cannot thrive in the presence of fear and repression. The attack, therefore, flies in the face of President Mahama’s exhortation to other governments.
Today’s incident is the second in less than a month when security officers have attacked journalists for doing their work.
The MFWA considers the attacks on Carlos Calony, Jonas Sodzi Voergborlo, and the eyewitness who was being interviewed as a gross violation of human dignity and constitutional protections of press freedom under Article 162 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The MFWA has noted that the Presidency, in a statement signed by its Spokesperson, has condemned the attacks and called for investigations and the imposition of appropriate punishment. While this is welcomed, the MFWA demands that the Minister for Defence and the National Security Coordinator attend to this urgently and with the highest level of transparency.
Moreover, the conduct of the National Security operatives in recent times, which appears to flagrantly disregard constitutional rights and human dignity during their operations, is becoming worrying. We urge the government to take these concerns seriously and address the excesses of the National Security.