The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has issued a five-day ultimatum to the General Secretary of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Dr David Tenkorang-Twum, to retract what it describes as “reckless” comments made against journalists.
The warning follows a video that went viral in June, during which Dr Tenkorang-Twum, in an interview on Accra-based Neat FM amid a nationwide strike by nurses, appeared to caution journalists critical of the nursing profession.
“Those journalists, we have marked them,” he said. “They will come and meet us in the hospital… we will show them that we are professionals… Not that we will do them evil but we will demonstrate that we are professionals.”
Although the GRNMA official later issued a clarification, saying the comments were not intended as threats, the GJA says the remarks were intimidating and could endanger media workers seeking healthcare at public hospitals.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, GJA President Albert Kwabena Dwumfour described the remarks as unacceptable and warned of consequences.
“We will hold him fully responsible in law and in public accountability for the consequences of his reckless statements,” Mr Dwumfour said.
He also called on the leadership of the GRNMA to publicly distance itself from Dr Tenkorang-Twum’s remarks.
