The January 16, 2019, murder of Ghanaian journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, who was gunned down by unidentified men months after threats by a local politician, sent shockwaves through the country’s press corps and yielded promises from leaders to find the killers and bring them to justice.
But four years later – despite police assurances of progress and two arrests – nobody has been tried or convicted in the journalist’s murder. Meanwhile, crimes against journalists continue. Since Divela’s death, at least 30 other Ghanaian journalists and media workers have faced abuses in connection with their work, including attacks, threats, and arrests.
“When something happens people talk about it and then it fizzles out,” said Sullemana, one of the 17 Ghanaian journalists and media workers detained since 2019, most of them briefly. The broad lack of accountability has resulted in a tendency toward self-censorship among members of the media, say those interviewed by CPJ.
Here are details of the cases involving the 30 journalists who have faced abuses for their work since Divela’s murder and what, if anything, authorities have done to respond. Samuel Adobah, a journalist with the privately owned TV Africa broadcaster was attacked by security officers in April 2020. Adobah told CPJ that the military sent him a letter of apology saying the officer who attacked him would be penalized and the military would compensate medical bills for injuries incurred during the attack. Adobah said that he never learned what happened to the officer nor did he receive any money from the military, which did replace a phone that an officer smashed.
Stanley Nii Blewu was beaten by soldiers when both he and Joseph Armstrong Gold-Alorgbey were briefly detained in August 2020. The two reporters for the privately owned TV3 broadcaster had been reporting on a sanitation project. At the time, a military spokesperson told CPJ it was a “misunderstanding” that had been resolved. Blewu said that he didn’t hear further from the military.
In late December 2020, freelance investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni was threatened with death in emails over his election reporting. He said he reported the threats to police, but they closed the case after failing to find the perpetrators.
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