Why the GJA has blacklisted two NPP gurus in the last two weeks

The President of the Ghana Journalist Association, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has, perhaps, gone into the history books of the media as the only president to have announced the blacklisting of two top members of a ruling political administration in a matter of two weeks.

These are after he directed the media in the country to shut off on the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East cum Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mavis Hawa Koomson; and the MP for Yendi, Farouk Aliu Mahama.

Reasons? Well, in essence, the two members of the ruling political party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), touched the golden eggs of his association – journalists, in the line of their respective duties.

Let’s do a breakdown of the issues.

The Hawa Koomson case:

On January 4, 2024, a journalist with Cape FM, David Kobbina, was in the Awutu Senya East to cover the vetting of New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary aspirants there, ahead of their primaries on Saturday, January 27, 2024.

But what was supposed to be a routine engagement, turned violent and in the process, the journalist was assaulted.

From reports and confirmation that came from the pressman himself later, the people who assaulted him with slaps, blows and kicks, were directly from the camp of the MP of the area; Mavis Hawa Koomson.

Detailing what happened to him, David Kobbina, writhing in pain, told colleague journalists that he was the subject of mistaken identity and no amount of explanation from him saved him from the assault.

He had been accused of being a panellist on Accra-based UTV, on a programme the minister was ostensibly abused on.

Kobinna said not even his official identity card as a Cape FM employee and a photo of the said abuser, which was clearly not him, could save him.

"Amid my denials, all I heard was a slap from behind me, before I could turn and look, many more slaps landed all over me. It forced me to fall before I managed to run upstairs to seek refuge.

"They pursued me there and continued the assault, kicking me anyhow. That is what happened till I lost consciousness at a point. I went blank and it took my colleague journalists to revive me.

“From the look of things, you could see that they were with Hawa Koomson… I learnt one of them is a policeman but I don’t know his station… some of them were wearing Hawa Koomson-branded attires while others were in mufti,” he stated.

Following the incident, Hawa Koomson issued a statement, categorically denying any knowledge or linkage to the assault on the journalist.

Mrs Hawa Koomson Team strongly denies any involvement in the incident reported on January 4, 2024, concerning the assault on Mr. David Kobbina, a journalist from Cape FM. We categorically reject the claim that individuals associated with our team were responsible for this regrettable act.

“Mavis Hawa Koomson has consistently advocated for a peaceful and constructive political environment. Our team does not endorse or engage in any form of violence.

“We want to make it clear that we do not have any thugs, and no members of our team or supporters, particularly those clad in Hon. Hawa Koomson's branded T-shirts, were involved in assaulting anybody,” her statement said.

GJA slaps blacklist on Hawa Koomson:

But this was not enough for the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) President, Albert Dwumfour, to look away.

Speaking during a press conference on January 25, 2024, he stated, “Three weeks after they assaulted our brother, justice has been denied. We took a petition to the IGP, NPP both national and regional, and all of them received the letters.

“And the period given has expired yet we haven't heard of anything, so, that means they have left us to our fate, whatever that happened it seems nobody cares and if the system fails to protect us, we shall protect ourselves.

“We are saying all media houses and all journalists shouldn’t report anything about Hawa Koomson even though she wasn’t the one who assaulted the journalist but her people whom she can identify and hand them over,” he said.

He further added that, “We have nothing against the MP, but we are scared of the people around her. All media practitioners should stay away from Mavis Hawa Koomson."

The Farouk Aliu Mahama case:

As if linked in a way, during the January 27 parliamentary primaries of the New Patriotic Party, chaos broke out at the Yendi constituency of the Northern Region.

The chaos erupted after voting and ballot papers were being sorted to be counted when factions from the sitting MPs side and that of his contender, the CEO of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre, Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakaria, went into a violent frenzy, tearing apart ballot papers.

Eventually, the results for the constituency were not officially declared by the Electoral Commission officials, although a national executive of the NPP was captured in a video purportedly announcing Farouk as the winner.

But the chaos from Yendi was not in isolation; a journalist with Citi FM also reported an assault on him.

Mohammed Aminu Alabira, the journalist, reported how he was assaulted by the Member of Parliament for Yendi in the Northern Region, Farouk Aliu Mahama.

Mohammed Alabira said he was caught in the violence, during which he was slapped by the MP himself while he was filing a live report.

He said the MP’s boys took a cue from their boss and pounced on him, beating him, and eventually tearing his shirt in the process.

“It was the MP [Farouk Aliu Mahama] who slapped me, and his people kicked me and took my phone away. I was reporting on the violence that was happening during the counting process, so I asked the MP why that was happening, and he got up and came and slapped me, and his people also started beating me up,” he narrated.

Alabira said it took the police at the venue to intervene and rescue him.

“It was the police that rescued me, and I was there with them in the company of the Divisional Police Commander, and Farouk [Aliu Mahama] came and blocked the entrance. So, we were kept in the bus for more than one hour before we called for reinforcement from the Ghana Armed Forces, who came and rescued us because his supporters were threatening to pelt the bus with stones,” he added.

GJA slaps blacklist on Farouk Aliu Mahama:

But once again, an unhappy GJA President, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, addressed the press on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, urging the media to blacklist the MP.

“Any media house which violates the blacklist declaration, believing that their staff will not be attacked and goes ahead to offer their platform to Farouk Aliu Mahama, the blood of any journalist who will be killed during this period will be on the head of owners and management of such media houses,” he said.

This was also after he had indicated that he received a threat from the Yendi MP concerning the matter.

According to the GJA president, he received a text message from the MP on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, in which he deems Mahama’s words to be a personal threat.

“This morning, I woke up to Farouk Mahama’s message around five in the morning. He sent me a message ‘good morning, my lawyers are working on to sue the journalist and all involved also for defamation. Rest my case. The name of the game is evidence not just allegations,” he said.

Dwumfuor noted that he has taken the MP's message to be a personal threat and will therefore threat it accordingly.

“We want to let him know that as journalists we don’t dwell on assumptions and suspicions. We only base on facts and evidence and I see this as a personal threat. Because if you want to go to court, go to court.

"Why sent me a personal message? You have no business in sending me a message. So, if Honourable Farouk is listening, I see it as a personal threat and I will deal with it as such. We are ready to meet him in court and wherever he wants to take the matter to,” he added.

Also, follow the conversations of some angry drivers regarding the new DVLA reforms that requires car sellers to be present for registration, on SayItLoud on GhanaWeb TV, below:



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