The Director-General in charge of Research and Planning at the Police Headquarters, COP Nathan Kofi Boakye says because the media is churning out half truths and fake news, people are no longer seeking redress at the law courts but from the deities.
“In order not to go to court and go and complain, people now have resorted to ‘Eduabo’ or invoking curses of the deities- and I know very soon it is going to escalate,” he said.
The Commissioner of Police made the comment at the launch of “Framework on Police-media Relations & Safety of Journalists in Ghana” on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 in Accra.
“The media, who are they accountable to?” he asked.
“It is like they can do anything in Ghana and go scot free. The National Media Commission (NMC), they do not respect them- they call people to come for mediation but they won’t go. What sanctions apply to such people …that freedom of speech is free,” he asked.
The Director-General also accused the media of perpetrating the worse form of human rights abuse, than the abuse of human rights by any other organisation.
“So I do not know with all these things going on (the launch of the framework), how do you juxtapose what is going on (half truth& fake news) with this beautiful theoretical document and how it can be effective?” he asked the framers of the document.
In the same vein, the General Secretary of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Mr Kofi Yeboah, also raised the question of implementation, since the police administration, unlike the NMC, is an institution established by law and has in place structures to sanction its personnel that disobey the rules.
To him, the framework is not an end by itself, since it does not mean it will solve all the problems between the media and the police.
In suggesting solution to this teething problem, which often arise as a result of misunderstanding of each party’s role, he said the framework should be incorporated into the training of police personnel and journalist.
The post Kofi Boakye blames media overrampant invocation of curses appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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