Activists want probe over Ghana journalist's assault

Civil society organisations are calling for an independent investigation into the alleged mistreatment of a journalist by national security operatives. 

Caleb Kudah, working with an Accra-based radio station, City FM, had gone to the premises of the national security ministry to take pictures of abandoned state vehicles but was arrested and allegedly beaten. 

The journalist was put in handcuffs and detained at the ministry for questioning. 

The security operatives also entered the radio station and arrested a female colleague Zoe Abu-Baidoo who is believed to have received copies of the pictures via WhatsApp. 

The two journalists were compelled to delete the pictures.

The actions of the security personnel have been widely condemned by many in Ghana describing it as brutality against journalists. 

The national security ministry has issued a statement indicating they were investigating the incident. 

But civil society organisations, including the Ghana Journalist Association, are demanding an independent inquiry and officers involved punished. 

Investigations by Ghanaian authorities into previous attacks on journalists including the murder of an undercover reporter Ahmed Hussein Suale in 2019 by gunmen have not yielded fruitful.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: AFP