CPJ holds powers to account for attacks on journalists in Ghana, Sudan
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Committee to Protect Journalists
The CPJ calls on Ghanaian authorities to investigate and hold accountable military officers and suspected illegal miners accused of attacking a total of five journalists in separate incidents.
‘It is concerning that military officers accused of attacking journalists have not been held to account,’ said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa regional director, from New York.
‘Authorities must act to reverse impunity when security forces attack the press, and deliver funds allocated as payment for items damaged in the attack against the press’
The five journalists, all of whom work for privately owned broadcasters, include:
- Jacob Adu-Baah, a reporter with the local ABC News
- Akwasi Agyei Annim, correspondent for Channel One TV and Citi FM
- Henry Emil Fynn, a reporter with Angel TV
- Tahiru Apiliye Ibrahim, a reporter with Zaa Multimedia, and
- Dokurugu Alhassan, a reporter with Asaase Radio
Ibrahim and Alhassan told CPJ that six military officers beat them on 12 February after they filmed a bus on fire in the northeastern Mamprusi community. The journalists reported the incident to the local police station, but officers said they were unable to intervene with the military.
Ghana Armed Forces spokesperson Eric Aggrey-Quashie told CPJ by phone that he was aware of the attack but could not speak about it.
Separately, on 21 February, a group of suspected illegal miners attacked Annim, Adu-Baah, Emil and police escorts in western Adomanya forest, Annim and Adu-Baah told CPJ. The attackers twisted Annim’s arm and damaged his phone and camera’s receiver. Adu-Baah and Emil escaped unharmed.
On 5 March, a judge ordered that 37 000 Ghana cedis (about R43 558) paid to replace the items damaged in the attack be transferred from police to the journalists, but Annim and Adu-Baah said they had not received the money. Another court hearing was scheduled for 26 March 2025.
Meanwhile, the CPJ calls on Sudanese forces to ensure journalists’ safety following the killing of three Sudanese state television network journalists and their driver in a morning drone strike carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday 21 March.
The journalists were reporting on the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) takeover of the Republican Palace in central Khartoum, according to news reports and a statement by the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate.
‘Journalists should never be targets in conflict. All parties to Sudan’s war must ensure the safety of the press and respect the essential role journalists play in documenting truth, even in times of war’
The state television crew had arrived at the presidential palace early Friday to document the SAF’s advance when they were hit by what was described as a loitering munition. Two local journalists told CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, that the journalists were targeted by the RSF for their coverage.
Sudan remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists since the war between the SAF and the RSF broke out April 2023, with at least eight journalists killed in connection with the war.
CPJ’s requests for comment about the killings sent to the RSF via Telegram were not returned.
