FIRE SERVICE OFFICERS WHO ASSAULTED CLASS FM JOURNALISTS IDENTIFIED AND INTERDICTED – President Mahama
President John Mahama has revealed that personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service who assaulted a journalist with Class FM have been identified and interdicted, as investigations into the incident continue.
The President denounced the incident and stated that violence against journalists had no place in a free society while speaking at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
“I’m a journalist by training, and so there’s no way we can countenance the continued assault on journalists,” President Mahama said.
He said that in order to resolve the issue and stop such instances in the future, the government has been working with security agencies and the Ghana Journalists Association.
President Mahama stated that some security personnel need to adopt a different mindset, pointing out that security officials and journalists have complementary roles in society.
Although he admitted that such occurrences would happen from time to time, he maintained that they must be dealt with decisively.
President Mahama affirmed that disciplinary action has been taken and disclosed that the matter is already being handled by the Minister of Government Communications.
“We’ve been in touch with the Ghana Journalists Association on these issues. We’ve put them in touch with the security services.”
“We need a reorientation of many of our security personnel to understand that just as they are doing their job of providing peace and safety, journalists are also doing their job of informing the people as to what is happening. They’re not antagonistic to each other. Indeed, they’re both serving the same public,”
“When they come, they must be dealt with as firmly as possible,”
“The officers have been identified. They’ve been interdicted, and an investigation is ongoing. But we won’t countenance assault on journalists” he stated.
NKONKONSA.com
