The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr Yaw
Boadu-Ayeboafo says the member of parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy
Agyapong, did no wrong in publishing photos of undercover journalist
Anas Aremeyaw Anas and members of his investigative team.
Ahmed Hussein-Suale, a member of Anas’ Tiger Eye PI team, whose photo
was also publicized by the MP, was murdered Wednesday night after he was
shot three times by unidentified men on a motorbike.
When the MP published the photos of the journalist in his “who watches
the watchman” video documentary, he also called on his associates and
members of the public to “deal with them” after he accused them of
maligning him and others with their investigative work.
But speaking at a news conference organised by the Ghana Journalists
Association (GJA) in Accra on Thursday, January 17, 2019, Mr
Boadu-Ayeboafo said while he condemns Mr Agyapong’s call to violence,
particularly his offer of a ransom for anyone who succeeded at dealing
with Hussein-Suale, he thought the MP did no wrong by the mere
publishing of the journalist’s photo.
There are publications suggesting Mr Boadu-Ayeboafo has supported Mr.
Agyapong in his actions, but he explained that when the incident
happened, a radio station in Accra called him for his views on the
matter and that at the time of the call, he was driving but due to the
nature of the situation, he decided to speak to them.
“I was called by a radio station and in the middle of a situation of
this, I could not have said that I will not talk. I told the people that
I was driving. In fact, I was at Mallam Junction and those who use the
road know the nature of that road that when you are driving on that road
and you are talking. And because of the significance of the
development, I said that I will talk.
And I started by condemning what has happened. And then the journalist
asked me about Kennedy Agyapong and I said please, you know at this
critical stage; at this early stage of the development, it is important
we do not bring in names. Then he said but he showed the photograph and I
said, look, the mere showing of the photograph cannot be construed as
criminality. But beyond the photograph, I mean, to offer reward for
people who may go and do harm to this individual…is criminal.
I ended by citing an anecdote. An anecdote where a son was so angry with
the father that he told the father that I will kill you. And he
sharpened a cutlass and put it down. But afterwards, he had a new
thinking and decided not to kill the father. Now, in the den of the
night, a nephew of the man went and took that same cutlass and went and
killed the father. Now, the next morning, it was reported that the man
had been killed. It was the son who was arrested. And so I told them
that if indeed if Kennedy Agyapong has promised to reward anybody who
will accost these individuals and do harm to them, then the police must
ask him to respond. And if police finds sufficient evidence, then they
should deal with him. This was what I told them. Now the headline says
that NMC Chairman defends Kennedy Agyapong,” Mr Boadu-Ayeboafo
explained.
According to him, the radio station that called him misquoted him,
saying “If as media people, we do not report what is right and we choose
and use and distort information, we create enmity for the profession of
journalism; we create enmity for ourselves.”
“If tomorrow somebody should report those people to me that they have
misquoted, I will find it difficult to defend them at the press centre
because they have done it to me,” he said.
Mr Boadu-Ayeboafo has therefore challenged the security agencies to do
everything possible to unravel the killers of the journalist.
He said the murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale meant that freedom of the
media “has been curtailed and freedom of expression has been
undermined.”
“We need to join hands in letting the authorities know; in letting the
world know that we will resist anything of this nature,” he said.
Mr Boadu-Ayeboafo said the country’s constitution guarantees the freedom
of expression as well as the freedom of the media and was not right for
anyone to kill a journalist for doing his work.
“We have a constitution that does not only guarantee the freedom of
expression but which additionally guarantees the freedom of the media,”
he said, adding “and so when you have a journalist practicing his job
and his life is cruelly cut short like this, it’s a double jeopardy.”
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