The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has warned it will impose a nationwide media blackout on all police-related activities unless urgent steps are taken to address recent assaults on journalists.
The threat follows a series of violent incidents involving media personnel, including the assault of a GHOne TV reporter during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun on 11 July, and a separate attack on 30 July, in which a JoyNews reporter, his cameraman, and an eyewitness were allegedly assaulted by armed military officers during a demolition operation in Spintex, Accra.
Earlier this year, on 11 February, journalists covering the Council of State elections in the Ashanti Region were reportedly assaulted. Another journalist was also attacked on 27 May while covering a protest organised by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) over the detention of the party’s regional chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, July 31,GJA President Albert Kwabena Dwumfour strongly condemned the attacks, calling them “unacceptable” and “a danger to Ghana’s democracy”.
“If the Ghana Police Service fails to act decisively within the next seven days, the GJA, in consultation with key stakeholders, will announce a nationwide media blackout on all police activities,” Mr Dwumfour said.
“We will instruct our members to withhold coverage of police events and editorial engagements with the police. This is not a threat—it’s a necessary action to defend the integrity and safety of every Ghanaian journalist,” he added.
The GJA is calling for immediate investigations into all reported assaults and appropriate sanctions against officers found culpable. The group argues that continued attacks on journalists seriously undermine press freedom and erode public trust in democratic institutions.
