Arrest attackers of Cape Coast journalist — GJA
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has called on the police to bring to justice those behind the assault of a journalist with Cape FM in Cape Coast, David Kobbina, last Thursday.
Advertisement
It urged the police to also investigate and identify the purported police officer who invited the journalist before he was assaulted.
The GJA President, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, made the call at a press conference in Accra last Monday.
Context
Mr Kobbina was assaulted by some yet-to-be-identified persons at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary vetting in Cape Coast last Thursday (January 4).
The said persons were said to have mistook the journalist for a certain Jacob, who allegedly insulted a bigwig of the party on a television station.
According to him, he was slapped many times and kicked repeatedly in the abdomen, ribs, chest and belly by the irate supporters who numbered more than eight.
Narrating his ordeal to the media, Mr Kobbina said he was charging his phone at the summer hut at the Central Regional Coordinating Council, where the vetting was happening when he was beckoned by a man in mufti believed to be a police officer.
He said the man identified him as one Jacob who had insulted a party bigwig on United Television, showing him a picture on his phone.
He said he insisted that it was a mistaken identity and showed the man his press tag to prove he was with Cape FM instead.
In the course of the conversation, he said he suddenly received a slap from behind.
The victim has since lodged a complaint at the Kotokuraba Police Station, where he was given a form to seek medical attention.
Attacks
Addressing the press conference, Mr Dwumfour said attack on a journalist would not stop the fraternity from reporting the truth.
“Attacking a journalist is a wasted effort.
Even under the military regime, we didn’t lay down our tool, not to talk of the democratic regime,” the GJA President stated.
Last year, he said the country recorded one of the highest number of attacks on journalists and media practitioners.
He said he had received intel regarding plots by some political actors to attack journalists and media practitioners severely and rampantly this year.
He said their agenda was to put fear in media practitioners and silence them so they could not discharge their constitutional mandate, particularly in this year’s elections.
