Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, the President of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), has made a fervent appeal to media outlets and journalists to impose a media blackout on Mavis Hawa Koomson, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture who also doubles as the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East in the Central Region.
During the New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary vetting in the Central Region on January 4, 2024, thugs alleged to be supporters of Hawa Koomson assaulted David Kobina, Cape FM’s morning show host.
This occurred after he was allegedly mistaken for another journalist, who the thugs alleged had made inappropriate comments about Hawa Koomson on UTV.
Addressing the media today, Thursday, January 25, 2024, Mr Dwumfour expressed deep concern over the silence from both the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and law enforcement in addressing the assault on David Kobina.
“We submitted written petitions to the NPP with some demands, and the deadline has long passed, but we regret to announce that nothing has been done, and we are forced to advise ourselves in the light of the cold silence.”
“Considering the unabated cases of attacks against journalists and other media practitioners in recent times and the intel we have picked, and having consulted with our partner institutions, we call for all media houses to give a total media blackout to Mavis Hawa Koomson and stay away from her as the minister of state because we believe there are thugs around the MP who pose a threat to the lives of journalists and other media practitioners.”
“Our call for total media blackout on Honourable Mavis Hawa Koomson is with immediate effect, and until further notice. We may reconsider it when we see evidence of action by the NPP and the Ghana Police Service to identify, arrest and prosecute the thugs, we are following this case with keen interest and we shall periodically review it and update the general public.”
