He left a full-time staff job at Multimedia Group Limited’s Joy Fm, Ghana’s first private commercial radio station, at the start of 2013 as News Editor to focus on law practice. He has since only hosted the flagship most listened to/watched weekend current affairs news analysis Newsfile program.
As a broadcast journalist, he has also been a BBC correspondent reporting on a wide range of issues with emphasis on human rights cases.
Ghana’s Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, who was the guest speaker at the 25th GJA Awards, said that the judiciary has no personal agenda against any journalist in Ghana.
He explained that the judiciary is sometimes forced to step in to check the excesses in the media and stated that the work of the judiciary should not be deemed as an attack on journalists.
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“Our relationship can often take a sour turn and there have been times when we have had to lay down the law and step in to check some of the excesses that are inevitable in any public endeavors such as media practice,” the Chief Justice said in a statement that was read at the ceremony.
He added, “For any journalist who may have found themselves on the wrong side of judicial pronouncements, I am here to tell you that it was not personal. Sometimes this is needed to ensure that the right thing is done.”
“I can assure you that the judiciary is committed to media freedom and working with you, indeed, with all of you to grow our democracy and improve the lives of our people,” said Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah.
He cautioned the media personnel not to be sensational in their reportage ahead of the general elections, noting that “freedom of expression is not an end in itself. Our national survival depends as much on the prosperity of citizens and the prospects of achieving it, as it does.”
“This is a period in which your heightened political antenna can pick up insignificant signals and blow them out of proportion to excite partisan groups against their opponents,” he said, and added, “I call on the media to ensure that this attitude must not be followed during the countdown to our general elections and thereafter.”
He maintained that the true performance of the media fraternity during the height of the pandemic must guide the coverage of the upcoming December 7 elections.
On his part, Mr. Affail Monney, the GJA President emphasized that the media has a crucial role to play in ensuring a peaceful, free, fair and credible general elections, adding that “this year, in particular, has been tough for the media in Ghana because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to the President of the umbrella body of Ghanaian Journalists, the year 2020 has been a test of character for the media, “which had to discharge their godly, constitutional and moral responsibilities towards the people in the midst of a pandemic, coupled with the daunting task of covering the upcoming general election.”
