The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has given the Central Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Richard Asiedu, a seven-day ultimatum to publicly apologise and report himself to the police over last month's invasion and shutdown of Kasoa-based Obaatanpa Radio.
Addressing a news conference in Accra yesterday, the President of the GJA, Albert Dwumfour, said the association's findings pointed to what he described as a disturbing act of intimidation, lawlessness and contempt for constitutional democracy following the incident which happened on June 25, 2026.
Mr Dwumfour said information gathered from the incident indicated that a group, led by Mr Asiedu, together with the Awutu Senya East Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Seth Banini, and the Constituency NADMO Coordinator, Mr Nyash Nyande, stormed the station shortly after 10 a.m., beat the producer of its Morning Show, Mr Bernard Mireku, and threw out the staff.
He added that the team locked up the premises after a discussion on the show touched on an internal party matter involving the Regional Chairman.
The GJA said the group had declared itself "now in power" and accused the station of bias, with staff also reporting threats that the incident was "only the beginning."
Mr Dwumfour said the station was later reopened after the Central Regional Police Command, led by DCOP Francis Nchor, intervened to retrieve the confiscated keys and confirmed that the assault case had since been referred to the CID Headquarters in Accra for further action.
The GJA President cited Articles 21, 162 and 163 of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantee press freedom, editorial independence and freedom from censorship, and insisted that holding public office did not entitle anyone to shut down a media house over unfavourable coverage.
He, therefore, demanded that Mr Asiedu publicly admit wrongdoing and undermining press freedom, issue an unqualified apology to Obaatanpa Radio and compensate the station for lost revenue.
Mr Dwumfour warned that failure to comply within a week would lead the association to declare Mr Asiedu "an enemy of press freedom" and pursue criminal and civil action against him and the others involved.
He also called on the NDC's national leadership to publicly condemn the actions of its regional chairman.
Lawsuits
On a related front, the GJA raised an alarm over what it described as a rise in Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) targeting journalists, citing the case of Mr Larry Dogbey, Managing Editor of The Herald, as illustrative of the trend.
Mr Dwumfour said the association would begin consultations with Parliament, the Attorney-General, the Ghana Bar Association and the National Media Commission on anti-SLAPP legislation to protect journalists from abusive litigation.
"If journalists must constantly fear that every difficult story may be followed by a crushing lawsuit, then public-interest journalism will suffer. If editors must weigh not only accuracy but also the possibility of being dragged through the courts repeatedly, then the public loses an essential watchdog.
"If media houses must spend scarce resources defending themselves against legal harassment, then they are being punished for serving the public. The chilling effect is real. And it is dangerous," he said.
Floods
Turning to the recent national flood disaster, which the GJA said had claimed about 34 lives, Mr Dwumfour commended President John Dramani Mahama's leadership in the response, as well as the appointment of Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah to lead a nationwide flood mitigation exercise.
He, however, called for a comprehensive national flood resilience strategy covering drainage maintenance, enforcement of planning laws, wetland protection and stronger sanitation campaigns, describing recurrent flooding as "an institutional problem" rather than a purely seasonal one.
