Story by, Paul Mensah Nsor
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has issued a stern ultimatum to a medical professional who publicly threatened journalists during a live television interview, demanding an unconditional apology within five days.
The controversy erupted during a Neat fm studio interview on a Despite Media Group station, where a doctor responding to criticism about nurses and what he termed "unprofessional media reportage" made threatening remarks against journalists.
"Those we have marked, we have marked them. Those journalists, we have marked them. We will do them evil, but we will demonstrate that we are professionals," the doctor stated during the live broadcast. He continued, "Those journalists we have marked them will come and meet us in the hospital."
The GJA condemned the remarks as "utterly irresponsible, deeply disturbing and unbefitting of a leader of a professional health association." The association described the threats as "nothing short of intimidation" designed to instill fear among media practitioners.
The GJA has given the Dr. David Tenkorang-Twum five days to:
- Issue an unqualified public apology to all journalists in Ghana
- Provide clear undertaking never to encourage actions threatening journalist safety
Failure to comply will result in the GJA petitioning multiple bodies including the National Media Commission, Commission on Human Rights, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Federation of African Journalists, and International Federation of Journalists.
The association warned it will hold the doctor "personally accountable for any harm that befalls journalists in public hospitals or elsewhere" resulting from his statements.
The GJA emphasized that such threats, "whether disguised as professionalism or not, create fatal grounds for hostility and endanger the safety of journalists across the country."