President John Dramani Mahama has once again strongly expressed his zero tolerance for assaults on journalists in the country.

Having previously served as both Deputy Minister of Communication and then substantive Minister of Communications, the president, who is also a lifetime member of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has reaffirmed his passion to stand up for journalists and their work.

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On two recent separate occasions, he made these points clear, while outlining measures and approaches he wishes to use in addressing the issues of assaults on journalists.

Here they are:

Presidential Media Encounter

During President John Mahama’s media encounter on September 10, 2025, he reiterated and reaffirmed his support for journalists and their work.

He stated that he will neither condone nor tolerate the growing trend of security personnel harassing and obstructing journalists from effectively carrying out their duties at public events.

“I’ve condemned assaults on journalists in any form. Journalists are doing their job and their job is to bring news to the doorsteps of our people and to inform them, educate and entertain them. And so, at every event, you will have journalists there. Unfortunately, some security personnel have developed a passion for just harassing journalists,” he said.

The president, suggesting ways to avoid such occurrences, proposed educating and sensitising the public on the critical roles of journalists in the country.

He also called for sanctions to be imposed on individuals who assault journalists.

“It's a matter of educating people. It's a matter of sanctioning people who assault journalists. I’ve been speaking with my president of GJA, saying that we're going to bring them together with the security agencies so that they must carry out an awareness amongst their people who provide security at events that if you see a journalist at an event, he's also doing a job doing a job like you the security person are doing your job.

“And so, you don't have the right to assault them or to manhandle them. We'll keep working at it and definitely as a lifetime member of the GJA, there's no way I'll condone assault of journalists in any form,” he said.

Meeting with GJA

The second occasion (which was actually the first time in recent times he said this) where the president condemned assaults on journalists was when the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) paid him a courtesy call on September 5, 2025.

During his encounter, president Mahama underscored the need to put in place measures that ensure a safer environment for journalists in the country.

According to him, these issues continue to persist due to the lack of legal sanctions against perpetrators.

He also attributed the country’s decline in global rankings to issues related to assaults on journalists, including the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed-Hussein Suale.

“… We've seen a consistent decline in our international rankings, and that is an issue of concern for us. And part of it is because of issues to do with harassment of journalists and even the unfortunate murder of Ahmed Suale which caught international attention and I think that since then, other incidents that have occurred have diminished our ranking," he said.

President John Dramani Mahama emphasised the important role of journalists in the country, advocating for an environment that allows them to carry out their duties freely and without fear of assault.

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He called for either sanctions against individuals who assault journalists or public sensitisation, which he said would help raise awareness about the crucial role journalists play in the country.

“And so, we need to find a way of ensuring that when people do that kind of thing, they face sanctions or are punished because once there's no deterrent, they continue to do it. Aside from that, educate and create awareness that journalists are not enemies. They are reporting something that is happening, and so they must be given a free leverage to be able to do their reporting,” he said.

MAG/AE

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