President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured that his administration will not shirk its responsibility of protecting journalists.
As much as possible, the government would do all it could to minimise attacks on journalists, if not eliminate such atrocities, he pledged while addressing the media at a dinner night organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in Accra.
President Nana Akufo-Addo said he continued to be deeply hurt by the inability of the police to apprehend the perpetrators of the murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale.
The investigative journalist was in January, 2019, shot dead in Accra, while driving home.
Some unidentified men on motorbikes allegedly shot him three times, resulting in his death.
Ghana has over the years had its fair share of atrocities against journalists, with the unresolved murder of the GJA Ashanti Regional Chairman, Samuel Ennin, in 2007, still a source of worry to many members of the inky fraternity.
President Nana Akufo-Addo lauded the leadership of the GJA for instituting a Journalists’ Support Fund, which aims at addressing crimes against journalists.
The government, he promised, would work assiduously to provide the requisite assistance to the Fund for the benefit of the Ghanaian media.
Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, the GJA President, described as unacceptable the atrocities committed against journalists worldwide in the course of the performance of their duties.
“In Ghana, through the rain and blazing sunshine, day and night, and sometimes under very dangerous circumstances, journalists go the lengths to bring stories that matter to the public.
“However, many journalists suffer attacks and have gone through excruciating pain over the years. Instead of honouring and appreciating the works we do, the crimes against journalists continue unabated,” the GJA President lamented.
