The West Africa Editors Society (WAES) is concerned about the safety of journalists and press freedom in Ghana, following the unprovoked assault on journalist Solomon Kanaluwe, Northeast Regional Correspondent of Media General.
Military officers detained and subjected Kanaluwe to severe beatings using sticks, leaving his body with lacerations and wounds.
The Society is alarmed at the recurring attacks on journalists in Ghana by state security officers and the seeming inaction of authorities to stop it.
WAES calls on Ghanaian authorities to investigate the cases, rein in the officers, and sanction those found culpable.
This incident follows the assault on Samuel Addo of Class Media Group in Kasoa by Ghana National Fire Service officers barely a month ago, with no closure yet.
The West Africa Editors Society is dissatisfied with how authorities handle cases of state security officers arresting, assaulting, and detaining journalists.
Ghana occupies an enviable place among its peers in Africa and around the world as a good example of a country raising the bar for democratic norms and values, but the repeated misconduct of state security officers is increasingly becoming a blot on the country’s reputation.
State security officers’ primary role is to protect life and property, not subject journalists to beatings.
Ghana’s reputation as a beacon of democracy is at stake due to these repeated incidents.
WAES urges authorities to urgently end these unpalatable happenings involving state security officers.
