By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Four media stakeholders, namely: the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), and the Private Newspaper Publishers Association (PRINPAG) have called on the government to repeal the Electronic Communications Act and the Criminal Code, specifically Section 208 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
According to them, many of the world’s intolerant and autocratic governments typically deal with dissent and press offenses by exploiting the law, hence our call for a repeal of the two laws.
The group made the call at a joint press conference held at the International Press Centre, Accra on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
A Press Statement read by the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA). Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour on behalf of four media stakeholders revealed that since the beginning of the year 2022, a number of journalists and one civil society activist have been prosecuted in Ghana using the Electronic Communications Act and the Criminal Code, specifically Section 208 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
In one of the many incidents, the GJA President explained the police arrested one Mr. Kwabena Bobie Ansah, a presenter with locally based FM station Accra FM, on February 10, 2022, and charged him with publishing “false news and offensive conduct.” The police detained the journalist, who had alleged that First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo had illegally acquired state land for private use.
This and other similar incidents he noted prompted a number of statesmen, academics, and civil rights activists to raise concerns about the apparent introduction through the backdoor of criminal libel, which was repealed in 2001.
“Incidentally, the current president, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, then-Attorney General, played a crucial role in the process of repealing the obnoxious law.
Instructively, during the heyday of the criminal libel law in the 1990s, the criminal law was used in precisely the way it is now being used: to prosecute and punish journalists and public speakers for allegedly false or defamatory statements against certain family members or associates of the President”, He added.
Mr. Dwumfour in his delivery pointed out by saying “It may be argued that the arrests and persecutions have been in accordance with the law. It is equally true that the victims of the ex-while criminal libel law were also dealt with in line with the law. Indeed, many of the world’s intolerant and autocratic governments typically deal with dissent and press offenses by exploiting the law, hence our call for a repeal of the two laws.
It is largely due to the wanton arrest and detention of journalists that Ghana plummeted from its lofty perch as the country with the freest media environment in Africa in 2018 to 13th in the 2022 global press freedom ranking by Reporters without Borders (RSF). On the global stage also, Ghana dropped from 30th position in 2021 to 60th in 2022, the worst ranking in 20 years.
The violations that have been recorded in Ghana over the past year give course for pessimism regarding the country’s performance in the next ranking.
It is obvious that our press freedom environment is deteriorating and that the abuse of the two controversial laws has contributed massively to the deterioration. It is our view therefore that efforts to bring a positive change should begin with a reconsideration of those laws.
We also call on the government to adequately resource the National Media Commission to effectively carry out its mandate of monitoring and regulating media content in a proactive manner. This, we believe, will discourage police involvement in the media regulatory space.
Finally, we commit ourselves to promote professional standards in the media and urge all journalists and media houses to uphold the highest level of integrity and professionalism. We will not hesitate to call out any journalist or media organization that indulges in flagrant violations of professional ethics and standards. This is in view of the recognition that press freedom and indeed all other forms of freedoms go with responsibility and the duty to respect public sensibilities, human dignity, and public interest.”
