Ghana Armed Forces apologizes for abuse, harassment of journalists

The Ghana Armed Forces has apologized to all journalists who have suffered physical abuse and harassment at the hands of military personnel.

According to the Armed Forces, such actions are unacceptable and will be addressed.

Speaking at a meeting with the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association, the Chief of Defense Staff Vice Admiral Seth Amoama said such incidents are regrettable.

A 2020 digital rights report by iWatch Africa found that journalists in Ghana face high levels of online abuse, with female journalists being particularly vulnerable. The report found that the ratio of female journalists to digital abuse was 1:61, while the ratio of male journalists to digital abuse was 1:28.

Female journalists in Ghana often receive misogynistic comments about their appearance, gender, and sexuality. They are also more likely to be threatened with rape and other forms of violence.

In December 2020, Afia Pokua, a leading female journalist with the Despite Media Group in Ghana, expressed her frustration on Facebook for what she believed was the inaction of the Ghana Journalism Association to adequately protect journalists. She posted, “…if I die and come back, I will never return as a journalist!”

In 2021, Kenneth Ashigbey, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, suggested that Ghanaian journalists may need to consider seeking redress at the international level if local state institutions continue to fail in delivering justice when they’re abused or tortured.

Ashigbey cited the case where the ECOWAS court ruled against The Gambia and ordered it to pay a sum of $100,000 to two journalists and their families who were tortured during the regime of Yahya Jammeh.