On July 11, a group of men overran a polling station in Ablekuma North constituency and assaulted a candidate, forcing voting to be temporarily suspended.

Kwabena Agyekum Banahene, a reporter with GHOne TV, told CPJ that amid the turmoil, a police officer asked him to leave the area and slapped and pushed him. Banahene’s mouth was injured, according to GhanaWeb.

At the same polling station, ATV Ghana reporter Vida Wiafe was hit with pepper spray deployed by police, according to a video posted by Metro TV Ghana. CPJ could not confirm whether the journalist was deliberately targeted. 

In a third incident at the polling station, a partially masked man struck with his hand and shoved Joy News reporter Sally Martey from behind, a video posted by the outlet showed.

“The July 11 assaults on journalists Kwabena Agyekum Banahene and Sally Martey, as well as the tear-gassing of reporter Vida Wiafe, are just the latest examples of the threats regularly faced by journalists in Ghana,” said CPJ Regional Director Angela Quintal. “There has not been enough accountability for attacks on the press — it should be a top priority for authorities.”

In a July 12 statement, police promised to arrest anyone found to have engaged in acts of violence during the Ablekuma North elections. Banahene told CPJ that he reported his attack to the police and the officer involved was suspended and charged. 

In April, CPJ wrote to President John Dramani Mahama — on his 100^th day in office— to call for swift investigations into cases of attacks against the press.

CPJ’s calls and text messages seeking comment from police spokesperson Grace Ansah-Akrofi received no response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“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 compensation allocated to those attacked.”

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 Fynn Emil a reporter with Angel TV; 
• Tahiru Apiliye Ibrahim, a reporter with Zaa Multimedia;
• and Dokurugu Alhassan, a reporter with Accra.

Ibrahim and Alhassan told CPJ that six military officers beat them on February 12 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 February 12 attack but could not speak about it.

Separately, on February 21, 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 March 5, a judge ordered that 37,000 Ghana cedis (USD$ 2,385) of compensation for those attacked 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 March 26.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“Journalists play a critical democratic role in reporting on elections, yet this duty to inform is jeopardized by attacks on the press that too often occur with impunity in Ghana,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “Ghanaian authorities must find out who was behind the assault on five journalists and electoral officers in Ashanti Region and ensure those responsible are ultimately held to account.”

CPJ spoke to the five journalists:

• privately owned GhanaWeb correspondent Gideon Nana Peprah
• privately owned Angel Broadcasting Network reporter Gabriel Kwasi Oppong
• privately owned Lawson TV producer Charles Awuah Mensah
• Oyerepa Radio and TV  reporter Kofi Adede
• privately owned Oseikrom Dawuro newspaper editor Henry Attah Kotei  

The journalists said they were covering electoral officers counting votes when at least 14 unidentified men attacked the officials, destroyed ballot papers, hit and slapped the reporters, seized their phones, and deleted their footage. 

The journalists said police officers attempted to stop the attack without force but failed, and Kotei and Mensah were saved by bystanders who pleaded with the attackers to let them go.

All five journalists received medical treatment at a hospital for their injuries, which included a cut to Peprah’s upper lip and a cut above Mensah’s left eye.

Peprah reported the attack to the police and the Ashanti Regional Police Command said that it will bring those responsible to justice, according to the nonprofit Media Foundation for West Africa. 

National police spokesperson Grace Ansah-Akrofi did not reply to CPJ’s calls and text messages requesting comment.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

Tawiah told CPJ he provided police with a written statement about the assault on January 2, 2025, as well as phone numbers and photos of those who led the attackers, which he obtained through his own investigations. No one has been arrested in the case.

“Environmental reporting is an increasingly dangerous beat in Ghana, and it is essential that authorities identify and hold accountable those responsible for attacking journalist Ohemeng Tawiah,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, from New York. “Ghanaian authorities must swiftly and thoroughly conclude their investigation and publicly share their findings. This is crucial to preventing the culture of impunity that often surrounds the targeting of the press in the country.”

Tawiah, assistant news editor at the privately owned Joy News outlet, had reported on allegations of illegal mining at the site earlier in December and told CPJ he obtained permission from police to join and report on their investigations.  

At the site’s entrance, police arrested some suspected illegal miners, Tawiah told CPJ. Armed men then arrived, demanded the release of the men, and then began throwing stones at police, Tawiah, and other civilians waiting inside a police vehicle.

As Tawiah tried to escape, a stone hit his chest, and he fell to the ground, he told CPJ. When the attackers caught up, they attacked him with stones and machetes. They also took the reporters’ phones and money and destroyed Kusi’s camera.

Tawiah said he bled profusely from a major cut to his head, was hospitalized for two days, and was treated for injuries to his head, chest, and fingers, and multiple cuts to his body, including what appeared to be attempts to cut off his leg. He still suffers from severe chest pains and headaches. Kusi was uninjured. 

CPJ’s calls and text messages to police spokesperson Grace Ansah-Akrofi asking for updates on the investigation did not receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

Alabira, a correspondent for privately owned broadcaster Citi FM, told CPJ he was covering the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primaries on January 27 in the northern town of Yendi when an unidentified man approached the counting area and accused an electoral official of destroying ballot papers. The man’s allegation resulted in an uproar among NPP party supporters, who began destroying ballot papers and electoral equipment, according to Alabira and a colleague, who witnessed the incident and spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. 

When Alabira approached Farouk Aliu Mahama, an NPP member of parliament, for comment, the politician slapped the journalist’s face and kicked his leg, according to Alabira and his colleague. Mahama’s security guard then grabbed Alabira by the neck and seized his phone before several party supporters began hitting and punching the journalist on his head and back.

The attack on Alabira lasted about three minutes, during which an attacker smashed Alabira’s phone screen before police intervened and pulled Alabira to safety, according to those sources and video of the incident reviewed by CPJ.

CPJ recently documented the attack on another Ghanaian journalist, David Kobbena, a morning show host with the privately owned broadcaster Cape FM, at the office of the Central Regional Minister, who is a member of the NPP, in the central Cape Coast region on January 4. 

“Authorities in Ghana must ensure a comprehensive investigation into the January 27 attack on journalist Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira, hold those responsible to account, and guarantee that journalists feel safe to report on political activities ahead of national elections later this year,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, from New York. “Repeated attacks against the press in Ghana by politically affiliated individuals are concerning and suggest an unacceptable disrespect for journalists’ crucial role in democracy.”  

Alabira and his colleague said police officers took Alabira in their van to a nearby police station, where officers took his statement and gave him a form for a medical professional to complete. Alabira was examined at the local hospital, where he was given medication for a headache and chest pains.

The journalist said that police had told him they were referring the case to the attorney general’s office.

Alabira told CPJ on February 1 that he still suffers from a headache and chest pain from the incident and could not use his phone until repairing the screen on January 30. On February 5, he told CPJ that he still experiences occasional pain, but it had become less frequent.

When contacted by phone, Mahama declined to speak to CPJ but shared a document prepared by his lawyers, which accused Alabira of falsely saying in an online publication by his outlet that Mahama had slapped the journalist from behind and threatened legal action if the article wasn’t retracted and Mahama didn’t receive an apology for defamation in seven days. 

Alabira told CPJ that he had never described Mahama as hitting him from behind, only from the front. CPJ’s review of the report on January 31 showed that it did not include Alabira saying Mahama slapped him from behind.

The Ghana Journalists Association called on police to arrest Mahama and his supporters and hold them accountable for the attack.

On February 6, four media rights groups—the Media Foundation for West Africa, the Ghana Journalists Association, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association, and the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana—issued a statement calling on NPP leaders and police authorities to hold Mahama and his supporters accountable within 10 days or face further actions from the associations, according to CPJ’s review of the statement. The associations also called on media organizations to avoid covering Mahama. 

CPJ called and texted the Ghanaian Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, national police spokesperson Grace Ansah Akrofi, and NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong for comment but received no response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Sports journalist Seidu Adamu was assaulted by a private security guard for the Black Stars, Ghana’s national soccer team, at a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Oct. 14, 2023.

Adamu, a U.S.-based journalist for sports website 442 Ghana, wrote on social media that he was covering the team’s activities ahead of its match against Mexico that day. Shortly after he greeted the team’s manager and a FIFA employee, he wrote that one of the Black Stars’ security guards attacked him without warning in the lobby of the team’s hotel and attempted to strangle him.

“I did not sustain any major injury as a result of the attack, but I still feel some pain in my neck and arm and bruises around my ears,” Adamu wrote. “To have yourself strangled in the neck by a near 7-foot tall, 350-pound [man] is no Joke.”

He did not respond to multiple requests for additional comment.

Adamu posted that he had filed a report with local police concerning the attack, and that he would no longer travel to Tennessee to cover the Black Stars’ match against the U.S. men’s national team on Oct. 17.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has listed the case as inactive, according to a copy of the incident report shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

The Sports Writers Association of Ghana — of which Adamu is a member — condemned the attack in a statement and said that its president, Kwabena Yeboah, lodged a complaint with the Ghana Football Association.

“Mr. Yeboah also took the opportunity to emphasize the need for the [GFA] leadership to hold their errant official accountable, given that he had previously been implicated in similar acts of aggression towards journalists in the course of their duties,” the statement said.

During a radio show for CITI 97.3 FM, a radio station that broadcasts from Ghana, multiple sports reporters criticized the GFA for not releasing a statement condemning the attack and said that the SWAG statement was toothless.

“I think that statement is inadequate, I think that statement is lightweight and I think that statement does not in any way protect journalists from a future that involves these types of incidents,” show host Benjamin Nketsia said. “At this point we need to advise ourselves about attending GFA programs.”

This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

On October 19, six soldiers attacked and beat Morkah, a morning show host with the privately owned Akyemansa FM broadcaster, after Morkah began filming the soldiers attacking a man in the Birim Central Municipal District of Ghana’s Eastern Region, according to a report by the privately owned Modern Ghana news website and Morkah, who spoke by phone with CPJ.

After noticing Morkah was filming, a soldier approached the journalist, grabbed his shirt by the neck and began to hit him, demanding to know why Morkah was filming. Morkah said five other soldiers then joined in hitting and kicking him all over his body, even as he told them he was a journalist.

“Authorities in Ghana must ensure that those responsible for beating journalist Nicholas Morkah are held accountable,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Ghana’s leadership have so far failed to take the necessary actions to ensure security forces do not perpetrate violence against journalists.”

The soldiers seized Morkah’s cell phone, forced him into their van, and then hit Morkah with his motorcycle helmet at least five times before driving the journalist to their local barracks, where they erased everything on his phone by resetting it. They also accused the journalist of offending them.  

While at the barracks, a senior officer requested that Morkah provide a contact for Yaw Yeboah, Akyemansa FM’s manager, then called Yeboah, informed him of Morkah’s arrest, and said the outlet would be prevented from covering future military events, Morkah told CPJ. Officers at the barracks also found Morkah’s second phone and searched it, Morkah said.

Officers then took Morkah to the local police command, where officers interrogated him, handed him a document alleging he had committed “offensive conduct,” and made him write a statement about the incident on that document.  

Morkah said the officers released him the same day without charge on administrative bail for which he had to provide a surety and verbal assurances that he would be available for further questioning. He returned the next day and retrieved both of his phones.

After his release, Morkah said he went to a hospital where he was given medication for severe pain in his knee, back, and head, as well as cuts on his lips and head from the attack. Morkah said the cuts have healed, but added he was still in pain more than a week later.

Morkah filed a police complaint on October 23 and Akyemansa FM wrote to the National Media Commission, which is a national media regulator, the Ghana Journalists Association, a local trade group, as well as officials with Ghana Armed Forces and the Information Ministry, according to Morkah and the privately owned Joy Online news website.

According to a statement by the Ghana Journalists Association provided to CPJ, the Ghana Armed Forces expressed “readiness” to investigate the incident and hold those responsible to account. CPJ contacted Ghana Armed Forces’ director of public relations, Micheal Addo Larbi, at a phone number and email address he provided, but he did not respond.

Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who owns the broadcaster where the journalist works, told CPJ that the armed forces were indeed investigating and promised a report would be out “soon.” The journalist said he had been questioned in the investigation.

CPJ reporting has identified a “broad pattern of impunity” in attacks on the press in Ghana, including by security forces.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

This content originally appeared on openDemocracy RSS and was authored by Khatondi Soita Wepukhulu.

Benya FM was unable to broadcast for four days as a result of the damage, according to Benya FM’s program manager Usman Kwaku Dawood, who also spoke to CPJ by phone.

On May 20, Ghanaian police charged the three alleged attackers with assault, unlawful entry, conspiracy to commit a crime, stealing, and causing unlawful damage, according to a report by the privately owned news website The Ghanaian Standard and Abraham Bansah, commander of the Elmina police prosecuting the case, who spoke to CPJ over the phone.

During a court hearing that day, the three men pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to The Ghanaian Standard report and Dawood, who attended the hearing. The case is expected back in court on June 28, Dawood said.

Eshun, who is also known as Osofo Blessing, and Egyirfah,who is also known as Nana Gyefo, told CPJ that they were familiar with the attackers and identified them as supporters of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). Dawood told CPJ that apparent NPP members attended the hearing in support of the three men.

The attack took place as Eshun was discussing the politics of local fishing during a program called “Afarikua,” whichaired at 7 p.m. That night’s segment focused on the perceived irregularities in the distribution of premix fuel, a government-subsidized petroleum product managed under Ghana’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, according to the ministry’s website, The Ghanaian Standard report, as well as Eshun and Dawood.

One of the three alleged attackers was described in court as an attendant at a premix fuel station, according to Egyirfah and The Ghanaian Standard report.

Egyirfah told CPJ that the three men arrived at the station by motorbike and began calling for Eshun by one of his on-air pseudonyms before entering the building.Suspecting the attackers were there for trouble, Egyirfah attempted to lock the entrance to the station before they could reach it, he said. But the attackers forcefully pushed back the door, and twisted his left arm, then started destroying equipment as they searched for Eshun, according to Egyirfah.

Once the attackers found the studio, they pulled Eshun from his seat, stomped on his back, sides, and stomach, and dragged him out of the room, the journalists told CPJ, adding that the attacks only stopped when Eshun became unconscious.

Eshun said his Android phone, which was in his pocket, was smashed during the attack, breaking the screen. The attackers also destroyed a studio mixer, two headphones, fivemonitors, six computers, three keyboards, three tables, two chairs, and a video graphic adaptor cable, according to the journalists and The Ghanian Standard report.

When Eshun regained consciousness later that day, he reported the attack to the divisional police station, he said. He was given a permit to receive free medication at a local hospital while the police opened an investigation into the incident, according to Eshun.

CPJ emailed questions on May 30 to the Ghana Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development through the contact information on its website, but has not received a response.

CPJ’s calls and text messages on May 31 to NPP General Secretary, John Boadu, went unanswered.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Jennifer Dunham.

On March 5, two soldiers at a military hospital in the Ashanti region repeatedly slapped Aidoo, a member of an investigative journalism fellowship program organized by the local press freedom group Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), and forced the journalist to do push-ups for taking pictures of the hospital, according to the journalist, who spoke by phone with CPJ, and an MFWA report.

The attack lasted around 30 minutes, during which the soldiers also briefly placed a cement block on Aidoo’s waist to make the push-ups more difficult and deleted all the photos and videos he took that day from his phone, Aidoo said.

“Authorities in Ghana must hold those responsible for the March 5 attack on journalist Michael Aidoo and ensure that the press can work safely without fear of violence or censorship by security forces,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, from New York. “Far too often impunity prevails when journalists are violently attacked by those who are supposed to ensure their safety. These security officers make a mockery of the rights of the press and the people.”

Aidoo said he was assigned as part of his MFWA fellowship to investigate the alleged abandonment of the Afari military hospital, located in the Atwima Nwabiagya district of the Ashanti region. He had gone there at 6 a.m. on March 5, hoping that he would arrive early enough to avoid any authorities who might seek to interfere with his reporting.

Aidoo said he met a military officer at the entrance to the hospital and after being granted access, he filmed the premises and interviewed a security guard. He was about to leave when he found that an office of Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party was located within the hospital grounds and decided to film the office as well.

Aidoo said that while filming the NPP office, the same military officer approached him and demanded that the journalist hand over his phone. When the journalist refused, the officer grabbed it and Aidoo said he then ran away, leaving the phone with the officer, but the officer chased him, slapped him five times on the face and head, and then took the journalist to the military base on the hospital grounds.

At the base, another officer threatened to beat Aidoo if he did not unlock his phone, so Aidoo complied, the journalist told CPJ. The soldiers then called their commander, who instructed them to delete the journalist’s photos and videos and to return the phone to the journalist.

After deleting the photos and videos, the soldiers called the commander again, who asked to speak with Aidoo on the phone; the commander asked why the journalist was filming and taking pictures of the hospital premises and said he had told his soldiers to slap the journalist after the commander learned about the pictures.

According to Aidoo, the soldiers then told the journalist that he would be punished and instructed Aidoo to do 30 push-ups. The soldiers forced the journalist to start anew each time he failed to do the full 30 without stopping and the soldiers briefly placed a cement block on his waist to make it more difficult, he said.

The soldiers removed the cement when Aidoo told them after two attempts that he could not proceed with the push-ups while carrying the cement, he told CPJ. The soldier returned Aidoo’s phone and told him to run from the hospital premises, but the journalist felt too weak to run and was experiencing leg pain, so he walked out; the soldiers threatened to further punish him if he did not run, he told CPJ.

After leaving, Aidoo said he informed his employers and was advised to report the incident at the police station, which he did the same day. CPJ’s calls to the number listed on the Ashanti regional police website rang unanswered.

Aidoo also said he visited the hospital, where he was given some medication to stop the pain but was told he had no major injuries. Aidoo, however, said he had a cut on his left hand that happened sometime when the first soldier forcefully took him to the military base. He added that because of the incident, he had difficulty breathing for three days.

The MFWA wrote to Ghana’s minister of defense, Dominic Nitiwul, requesting an investigation into the attack, according to the same report by the foundation. Muheeb Saeed, a senior programs officer with the MFWA, told CPJ by messaging app that they have not received any response from Nitiwul. CPJ’s calls and text messages to Nitiwul went unanswered. 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.