GJA threatens media blackout over police assaults on journalists, issues 7-day ultimatum
By DL News
Published
1 min read
The warning follows a surge in violent attacks on members of the press, including the assault of JoyNews' Salomey Martey and a GHOne TV reporter during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun on July 17, and the brutalisation of JoyNews' Car...
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has issued a stern ultimatum to the Ghana Police Service to take immediate and transparent action on recent assaults against journalists or face a nationwide media blackout on all police-related coverage.
The warning follows a surge in violent attacks on members of the press, including the assault of JoyNews' Salomey Martey and a GHOne TV reporter during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun on July 17 and the brutalization of JoyNews' Carlos Calony by armed military officers during a demolition exercise at Spintex on July 30.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, July 31, GJA President Albert Kwabena Dwumfour described these acts not only as physical violence against individuals but as deliberate strikes on Ghana’s democracy and press freedom.
“Violence against a journalist during democratic processes is violence against the public’s right to know,” Dwumfour stressed. “It threatens free speech, erodes transparency, and casts a long shadow over our electoral integrity.”
While the police have claimed to charge an officer in the Ablekuma North case, the GJA insists this is not enough. The Association is demanding full accountability, including a public disclosure of the officer’s identity, timelines for prosecution, and a detailed report on disciplinary actions taken.
“Has the charged officer been put before court? No. We are questioning the sincerity of the police,” Dwumfour said.
GJA's Demands:
Under the theme “Time for Action”, the GJA is calling on the Police Service to:
Publish updates on all reported journalist assault cases within the last seven months.
Provide a full prosecution report on the Ablekuma North assault case.
Impose clear sanctions on all individuals—uniformed or not—who have attacked journalists.
Disclose concrete prevention strategies, including officer education on press freedom.
The GJA has given the Ghana Police Service a seven-day deadline to meet these demands.
“Failure to act will result in a media boycott of all police activities,” Dwumfour declared. “And we will officially brand the police as enemies of press freedom in Ghana.”
