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Closure of 4 radio stations in Bawku: The wrong approach to doing the right thing

Kwaku Asante
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Closure of 4 radio stations in Bawku: The wrong approach to doing the right thing

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) welcomes as a step in the right direction the decision to shut down four radio stations in the conflict-stricken Bawku Municipality, in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The National Communications Authority (NCA), one of Ghana’s media regulators, announced on February 24, 2024, that it has closed four broadcast stations, namely Bawku FM, Source FM, Zahra FM and Gumah FM, “on grounds of national security.”

“This follows the recommendations of the Upper East Regional Security Council, and on the advice of the Ministry of National Security that the operations of the said FM Stations and the incendiary utterances of their panellists/presenters have contributed to the escalation of the Bawku conflict, leading to loss of lives and property in Bawku and its environs,” the NCA’s statement said.

Having monitored the media in Bawku over some time, we have witnessed and can confirm the inflammable, rabble-rousing pronouncements that the NCA is citing as the reason for its decision. In fact, in September 2022, we participated in a virtual forum of media stakeholders convened by the National Media Commission (NMC), the other media regulator, to discuss and make recommendations on the increasing recklessness of certain radio stations in Bawku.

Subsequent to this meeting, the NMC on October 2, 2022, issued a press release warning the owners of the stations involved “to adopt stronger gatekeeping measures to ensure that persons with interests in the conflict do not hijack radio stations to foment trouble.”

The NMC also requested all radio stations in Bawku to submit to the Commission clear measures they have put in place to ensure professionalism in the radio stations. The Commission went on to advise stations that faced capacity challenges to approach the MFWA and the Ghana Independent Broadcasters’ Association (GIBA) for assistance to enhance their gatekeeping systems and professional standards, as agreed during the said stakeholders meeting.

Against the above background, the closure of the four stations does have some reasonable basis. While the decision might be right, the MFWA is of the view that the closures should not have been carried out by the NCA which has no power to enforce ethics and professional standards and is, therefore, not the appropriate body to issue sanctions over media content. That role lies with the NMC.

The NCA’s action, which the Authority seeks to justify under Section 13(1)(e) of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775), amounts to claiming concurrent powers with the NMC over broadcast content regulation. It is our contention that the NCA’s power to revoke or suspend broadcast licenses under this law relates to breaches of a technical nature, such as diversion or misuse of frequency by radio or television license holders for activities liable to undermine national security or public interest.

As the media regulator and arbiter of conflicts involving the media, the National Media Commission is insulated from external influence. Article 172 of the Constitution says:

Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution or by any other law not inconsistent with this Constitution, the National Media Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority in the performance of its functions.

The National Communications Authority, on the other hand, is an agency of the Ministry of Communications, operating under the control and direction of a Minister with partisan interest. The Board of Directors of the NCA, Director-General and Deputy Directors-General are political appointees who are beholden to the President and his political party.

It is, therefore, a dangerous precedent for the NCA and the National Security Ministry, both run by persons with partisan interests, to be clothed with the power to sanction broadcast stations for their content.

The action of the NCA in concert with the National Security Ministry without recourse to the NMC could pavé the way for future autocratic governments to embark on politically-motivated targeting of broadcast media organisations using the National Security, whose intelligence claims cannot be questioned by the public.

In view of this, we recommend a review of the Electronic Communications Act 2008 (Act 775) and the National Media Commission Act 1993 (Act 449) to transfer the broadcast frequency allocation and licensing function of the NCA to the NMC to completely insulate the broadcasting sector from possible political meddling.

We are privy to and do deplore the reckless broadcasting by some stations in Bawku and do recognise the danger they pose to the peace-building efforts in the area.  Their closure is, therefore, a decision in the right direction. Nonetheless, we maintain, as a matter of principle, that it was carried out by the wrong institution. We might not always get it right if we allow State Security and the NCA to get into the arena of sanctioning media outlets over their content.

Absence of docket on Ahmed Suale’s murder case shows government indifference

Kwaku Asante
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Absence of docket on Ahmed Suale’s murder case shows government indifference

The disclosure by Ghana’s Attorney-General and Minister of justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, that his office has received no docket on the murder of Ahmed Suale, is the utmost proof of the state’s lack of commitment to solving the case.

“No docket or document fit for prosecution has been built and presented to my office since the murder”, the Minister said on February 20, 2024.

Ahmed Suale was murdered five years ago. A lack of progress report on the investigations had persuaded MPs in Ghana’s parliament, to demand an update and it was in response to this that the AG had appeared before the lawmakers.

 “On being appointed Attorney General, the former Inspector General of Police [James] Oppong-Boanuh paid a courtesy call on me on March 29, 2021, for being concerned about the failure to resolve this case and other cases.

“I inquired about the state of investigations into the matter and demanded a report on the case and the director general of CID obliged,” Godfred Dame said during his appearance.

It is troubling because the parts of the Attorney General’s statement about his discussion with the former IGP, came across as rehearsed. This is the second time the Attorney General has made these same pronouncements before the august House in response to the lack of prosecution on the Suale murder case. The first was on July 27, 2021, when he was giving an update on the killing of the investigative journalist and other high-profile killings, including those of Ekow Hayford and J. B. Danquah Adu, former MPs for Mfantseman and Abuakwa North, respectively. Mr. Dame told Parliament at that time that his office had received no docket on the Ahmed Suale case and that he had raised the issue with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) when the latter had paid a courtesy call on him on March 29, 2021.

“Being concerned about the failure to resolve this and other homicide cases, I enquired about the state of investigations into the same. I emphasised to the IGP and his team the need to conclude investigations for action to be taken as soon as practically possible,” he had said.

The presentation of this recycled information in 2024, raises suspicion that since the 2021 meeting with the IGP, the AG has been sleeping on the Suale case but was suddenly jolted by the demand for an update by the MPs. And then, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame scrambled and went off to rehearse his 2021 statement for Parliament once more.

In a seeming attempt to placate MPs over the lack of prosecution, the AG asked for more patience, likening the delay around the Suale case to the about the 29 years that the murder of American rapper, Tupac Shakur, had remained unsolved since his shooting in 2006 until 2023.

Meanwhile, as if the delayed justice is not disheartening enough, the principal legal officer of the state went on to suggest that the killing of Suale may be unconnected to his journalism work. This amounts to beating the media and denying them the right to cry, given the well-documented events leading to the attack on Ahmed Suale.

“The killing of Suale on the heels of the Number 12 football corruption expose and following a campaign inciting the public to attack the journalist establish solid prima facie grounds to link the murder to his work. Whoever claims otherwise must prove the contrary,” said Muheeb Saeed, Head of Freedom of Expression at the MFWA.

Mr. Dame’s attempt to disconnect Ahmed Suale’s killing from his work contrasts starkly with the world’s reaction to the killing of renowned Dutch journalist, Peter R. de Vries.

For instance, the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, commended the crime reporter’s “relentless commitment to the profession, and eagerness to unveil the truth”, adding “I trust that the authorities will bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice, to show that neither the right to free expression nor the course of justice can be obstructed through violence.”

The AG’s revelation that there is no prosecutable docket only undermines the confidence of the media and the public in President Akufo-Addo to deliver justice in this matter before he leaves office, as he promised a little over a year ago.

“I continue to be deeply regretful that despite the unceasing best effort of the police, the perpetrators of the murder of Ahmed Suale can still not be found. But I assure you that, so far as I remain President, the dossier cannot be closed until they are brought to justice,” the President had said during the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA’s) dinner on December 21, 2022.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is highly disappointed in the Attorney-General’s empty update before Parliament. This recycled presentation demonstrates a flagrant indifference to the case and we wholly deplore it.

The MFWA also reiterates it disappointment with the inability of the police and the state security apparatus to provide evidence of any serious work towards tracking down the murderers of Ahmed Suale. As a nation, we may have been taken unawares by the criminals who perpetrated the murder, but if that can be excused, there is no excuse for lack of action to ensure redress and, thereby, redeem ourselves. We therefore urge Parliament to continue to exert pressure on the government to act on this matter. We also herby call on all media stakeholders to convene a meeting to explore all avenues that could help end impunity over the murder of Ahmed Suale.

Media end boycott of Minister over assault on journalist

Kwaku Asante
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Media end boycott of Minister over assault on journalist

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), in consultation with its media partners, including the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has revoked the media blackout it imposed on the Minister for Fisheries and Aqua Culture Development, Mavis Hawa Koomson.

The GJA imposed a media blackout on the Minister, who is also a Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu-Senya East, after thugs wearing shirts branded with her pictures, attacked a journalist, on January 4, 2024. The thugs attacked David Kobenna, a morning show host of Cape FM, during the vetting of persons aspiring to contest for parliamentary seats in Ghana’s upcoming general elections in December, on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Cape Coast, capital of the Central Region of Ghana.

The incident forced the GJA to issue a media boycott call against the minister, which the MFWA staunchly supported. However, on February 15, 2024, Ms. Koomson, accompanied by the Minister-designate for Information, Fatimatu Abubakar, engaged the GJA to seek an amicable settlement. The meeting was attended by representatives of the key media actors in Ghana including the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the Parliamentary Press Corps, and the New Media Association.

According to a release from the GJA signed by its General Secretary Kofi Yeboah, the decision to end the media blackout on Ms. Koomson followed her pledge, supported by the Minister-Designate for Information, to help ensure justice for the attacked journalist.

A similar blackout on Farouk Aliu Mahama, the MP for Yendi in the Northern Region of Ghana, however, remains in force, according to the release.

 The blackout was imposed on Mr Mahama for his alleged assault of Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira, the Northern Regional correspondent of Citi FM/TV, during the ruling party’s parliamentary primaries, on January 27, 2024.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) commends Ms. Hawa Koomson and her colleague the Minister-designate for Information, Fatimatu Abubakar, for taking the gracious initiative to engage the leadership of the media on the issue. We salute the resolute support journalists and the media accorded the boycott in solidarity with David Kobenna. Justice for the assaulted journalist is the ultimate, and we hope that the Minister will redeem her promise to support efforts to ensure appropriate redress.

Read the GJA Release here.

Our impact: Ghana’s President suspends multi-million-cedi contract after accountability journalism report

Kwaku Asante
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Our impact: Ghana’s President suspends multi-million-cedi contract after accountability journalism report

Ghana’s President, Nana Akuffo Addo, has suspended a contract estimated to deliver a monthly payment of up to Ghc240 million to a private company, Strategic Mobilization Ghana Ltd (SML). This followed a series of investigative stories by The Fourth Estate, an accountability journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).

Dragging over a whole year, The Fourth Estate’s investigations exposed the details of the SML contract which was to enhance revenue assurance in Ghana’s petroleum downstream sector. The reports uncovered a number of disturbing revelations, including the fact that SML, which is supposed to be providing revenue assurance in the petroleum sector, is actually an offshoot of a timber company. It also emerged that the private company SML was single-sourced in the contracting by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Finance Ministry, without recourse to Parliament whose approval is required before the company could be engaged. In addition, it came to light that SML had political connections within the current government with its Managing Director, Christian Tetteh Sottie, previously being employed as Technical Advisor to the Commissioner General of the GRA, and only picking up the job as MD at SML, after resigning his position at the GRA after GRA contracted SML.

A statement dated January 2, 2024, and signed by the Director of Communications at the Ghana’s Presidency, Eugene Arhin, announced the suspension of the contract and added that “the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has appointed KPMG, the reputable Audit, Tax and Advisory Services firm, to conduct an immediate audit into the transaction between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Ghana Ltd (SML), a contract which was entered into to enhance revenue assurance in the downstream petroleum sector, the upstream petroleum production and minerals and metals resources value chain,”.

The President “also directed the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority to suspend the performance contract pending the submission of the audit report, including any payments presently envisaged under its terms.” KPMG has also been tasked to “assess the appropriateness of the contract methodology, verifying compliance with legal standards and industry practices in the procurement process for the selection of SML.”

The president’s directive follows an earlier one by Parliament to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to suspend payments to SML. In the days after that, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) also opened an investigation into the contract after it was petitioned by the journalists who did the stories.

Background

In 2019, the Ghana Revenue Authority signed a so-called “revenue assurance” contract with SML. Even though per investigations, it is not exactly clear what SML is supposed to do, the presidency has said that the private entity was contracted to “enhance revenue assurance” in the petroleum downstream sector. SML therefore began the performance of its contract in June 2020. In March 2021, SML claimed that it had saved Ghana up to Ghc1 billion due to the meticulous performance of its contract to ensure that the country did not lose revenue in the downstream petroleum sector. Then in February 2023, the company made an even more audacious claim that its services had saved the country some Ghc 3 biilion.

This claim was widely reported in the Ghanaian media, including in the state-owned Daily Graphic while SML itself flaunted the claim on its website. Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, would also tout the supposed revenue savings that SML had made for Ghana as part of the supposed superior statecraft that the current government is providing Ghanaians.

The Investigations

But while SML was blowing its horns and receiving applause from the Finance Minister, and the media was reporting its claims under banner headlines, The Fourth Estate had started an investigation into the contract. Perhaps the worst of the revelations was that SML did not ensure the saving of the Ghc3 billion that it claimed to have saved. The story revealed that the company only duplicated roles that state agencies were already playing and there was no evidence for the fantastic claim that it had saved Ghana Ghc3billion. SML was also caught engaging in blatant subterfuge, secretly deleting false claims it had made on its website about its supposed outstanding delivery on the contract, after it was confronted with the fact.

Upon the completion of investigations, The Fourth Estate published its reports both in a video documentary format and in digital print versions. Within the media itself, the expose trended virally online, with many mainstream media outlets sourcing the stories in part or in whole for their own reports. They include Modernghana.com, The Herald newspaper, 3News, TV3 and Myjoyonline.com

About The Fourth Estate

The Fourth Estate is a non-profit, public interest and accountability investigative journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). It aims to promote independent and critical research-based journalism that holds those in power answerable to the people they govern.

Press Freedom: Nigeria ended 2023 on a repressive spree

Kwaku Asante
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Press Freedom: Nigeria ended 2023 on a repressive spree

Recent events in Nigeria have revealed a concerning pattern of challenges to press freedom and the safety of journalists. As 2023 drew to a close, the authorities, particularly the security agencies and state officials, ramped up the repression with a series of arrests, detentions and assaults against journalists.

On December 19, 2023, Godwin Tsa, a journalist working for the Sun newspaper, was forcibly arrested by security officers from the Department of Development Control at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). Tsa was on assignment, covering a peaceful protest led by mechanics and spare parts dealers in Abuja, who were rallying against the demolition of more than 50 shops. Following the arrest, he was taken to a local police station, where he was detained in a cell for several hours. The security officers also seized his mobile phone, and upon its return, Tsa was coerced into deleting all evidence of the protest. The Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) had to intervene to secure Tsa’s release.

On December 12, 2023, a Special Task Force of the Nigeria Police from Abuja arrested Precious Eze, an online publisher and journalist. Mr. Eze was held incommunicado and his laptop and electronic devices were confiscated. The journalist’s whereabouts are unknown to his relatives and colleagues, who are concerned about his hypertensive condition.

Journalist Precious Eze was held incommunicado and working equipment seized |Photo: Eze’s Linked Account

Similarly, on December 4, 2023, Security operatives, including a police officer from Abuja Property Development Company (APDC), detained Marcus Fatunmole, News Editor at the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), for about six hours. The journalist was arrested in Abuja while investigating a viral video of luxury buses allegedly being renovated for mass transit. The security operatives seized his phone and accessed his Google account. The perpetrators asked their victim to produce a letter authorising him to take pictures.

In another incident on December 2, 2023, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) operatives physically assaulted Izunna Okafor, a reporter with 247ureports. The assault occurred while Okafor was returning to Awka from the Soludo Ambassadors’ Anambra South Rally in Nnewi, sharing a vehicle with NSCDC officers. When exiting the NSCDC vehicle, Okafor noticed that his phone had fallen from his pocket in the vehicle.

In an attempt to inform the driver and request to retrieve his phone, one NSCDC operative ordered the driver to speed off, intentionally slamming the door on Okafor’s hand. The journalist managed to take a commercial vehicle to reach the vehicle at a bus stop. Upon arrival, Okafor sought an explanation from the officer who injured him. The officer responded aggressively, raising his voice and cocking his gun, while colleagues joined in assaulting Okafor.

On November 29, 2023, an Asaba Magistrate Court remanded in prison custody two journalists, Joe Ogbodu, Managing Editor of Bigpen Nigeria, and Prince Amour Udemude, over an alleged defamatory report in 2019. The journalists pleaded not guilty to the defamation charge, and their counsels applied for bail. Subsequently, the presiding Magistrate, B.N Anumadu, sentenced them, ordering an unreserved apology to the plaintiff. Although the journalists duly complied, Prince Amour had alleged, during an earlier court appearance on October 12, 2022, that the police prosecutor Ms. Theresa Okpor had coerced them to write a dictated statement to incriminate themselves.

On November 24, 2023, the Niger State Commissioner of Homeland Security, Major General Bello Mohammed Abdullahi, assaulted journalist Mustapha Batsari, who reports for Voice of America (VOA). The incident occurred when the reporter approached the Commissioner at the Government House in Minna for details regarding a crisis in Beji, Bosso Local Government Area.

The state official passed the baton of repression on the security forces once again with a journalist again at the receiving end. On November 13, 2023, the police arrested Achadu Gabriel Idibia, the head of Daybreak newspapers, and subsequently charged the journalist over a report on the Kaduna Hajj camp. Achadu was arraigned two days later on charges of defamation of character, intimidation, and incitement of contempt for religion. He was granted bail and released on November 16, 2023. This incident marked the second arrest for Achadu, who had previously been detained on September 24, 2023, immediately after the publication of the news report.

Journalist Achadu Gabriel Idibia was arrested and charged for a story he did about the Kaduna Hajj camp

Taking a cue from the rampaging security agents and public officials, a group of political thugs assaulted Chinagorom Ugwu of Premium Times at a polling unit in Imo State on November 11, 2023. The journalist was covering an off-season governorship election. The thugs initially ordered him to leave, claiming he had seen enough. The reporter was threatened, pushed away, and prevented from covering the election.

Hoodlums struck again on October 31, 2023, when a four-man mob attacked Harmony 103.5 FM, a radio station affiliated with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in Kwara State. The assailants, who arrived at the radio premises on two motorbikes, assaulted the station’s guard, confiscated staff members’ phones, and proceeded to damage facilities and loot equipment. The incident forced the temporary suspension of the station’s operations.

On October 10, 2023, journalist Saint Mienpamo Onitsa, Managing Director of NAIJA Live TV, was arrested in Bayelsa and then transferred to Abuja. The journalist was arraigned on October 17, 2023, before an Abuja High Court on charges of cyberstalking, defamation, and publication of defamatory material based on reports about a September 2023 alleged killing outside the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) offices. On November 2, 2023, the Federal High Court charged him with willful libel, threats, causing danger, and insult against the PAP interim administrator. Despite a bail application, the presiding Judge ordered his remand until December 4, 2023.

Mr Gabriel Idibia, the head of the Daybreak Nigeria newspaper bureau in Kaduna, revealed that he had to flee and go into hiding after being falsely accused of blasphemy. The accusation stemmed from his sharing of a viral video featuring Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a prominent figure in Hamas, Palestine addressing religious intolerance. Gabriel was removed from the Kaduna journalists’ WhatsApp group on October 13, 2023, followed by a flurry of angry criticism, hate comments and threats. This situation echoes a tragic event in May 2022 when Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a Christian college student in Sokoto, faced blasphemy accusations in a WhatsApp group chat, leading to her brutal murder with no one held accountable.

The distressing incidents that have unfolded in the latter part of 2023 demand attention as they reveal real and immediate threats journalists face, even within the confines of their homes.

It is unfortunate that state actors, particularly security agents and public officials stand as the leading perpetrators of the above violations. The other significant type of perpetrators, incidentally, are thugs often acting at the instigation or in the service of important public figures, particularly, politicians. To make matters worse, the judiciary has displayed a woeful attitude of complicity in this repression. In almost all cases, the prosecutors get their wish to get the accused journalists detained or remanded, given the victims no appeal against their persecutors.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) calls on the Nigerian government to protect journalists and ensure their safety and freedom to operate without fear of persecution. The government must prioritize safeguarding press freedom, upholding the rule of law, and fostering an environment where the media can thrive and serve as a vital pillar of democracy.

To this end, the government must call on security agents and state officials to put an end to the wanton attacks and arbitrary arrests of journalists. Nigeria must establish a national safety of journalists mechanism through a multi-stakeholder process, as part of a national commitment to uphold the right to free expression as a cornerstone of its democracy.

MFWA supports Ghana Journalists’ Association’s call for media blackout on Fisheries Minister

Kwaku Asante
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MFWA supports Ghana Journalists’ Association’s call for media blackout on Fisheries Minister

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) fully endorses and supports the decision of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to impose a total media blackout for Ghana’s Fisheries Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson, and stay away from her as Member of Parliament, Minister of State or any other public capacity and position she may hold.

Given the increasing spate of crimes against journalists, the apathetic attitude of the state toward such crimes and the consequent growing impunity for such crimes, the MFWA believes that it is time for the media community to take drastic measures to ensure that the rights of journalists are protected and safety of journalists guaranteed.

The MFWA commends the GJA for the bold decisive decision and wishes to join the Association in appealing to all media houses and journalists in the country to adhere to the decision of the GJA. Indeed, the MFWA wishes to add that the media boycott must include all activities of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, as long as Madam Koomson remains the sector minister.

The decision of the GJA follows the attack of David Kobbena, a journalist with Cape FM, by thugs alleged to be supporters of Madam Koomson. The incident, which occurred on January 4, 2024, has been widely condemned by the GJA and the MFWA.

Kobbena, known on radio as Ohene Kwame David, is a senior presenter on Cape FM located in Cape Coast, the capital of Ghana’s Central Region. He had gone to the Central Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to cover the vetting of some aspiring members of parliament for the ruling New Patriotic Party in the region when he was assaulted.

The journalist told the MFWA that he was sitting under a summer hut at the RCC premises when two ladies called and asked him if he was one Jacob. According to the ladies, the said Jacob was wanted for insulting Hawa Koomson during a panel discussion on Accra-based UTV.

David said about half an hour after the ladies had left following his explanation that he had never been on any UTV panel, a gentleman also appeared and levelled the same accusation against him. The political thug pulled out a picture of the wanted UTV panelist and insisted it was David’s.

“As I was explaining that it was a case of mistaken identity, even showing him my press card, one person arrived and slapped me from the back. Before I could turn, another slap. About fifteen thugs pounced on me and started beating me, saying I am the one who insulted Hawa Koomson on UTV,” the journalist told the MFWA.

David Kobbena was rescued by his fellow journalists present. According to the victim, Hawa Koomson herself also came around after hearing of the assault and left without saying a word, after she was briefed by her boys.

The victim reported the matter to the NPP executives who were conducting the vetting. He also reported the matter to the Kotokoraba Police Station which issued him a medical form to seek treatment at a hospital.

The MFWA is deeply concerned about this umpteenth assault on journalists by political thugs and demands immediate action from all concerned. We urge the NPP as a political party to demand answers from Hawa Koomson and to compel the Minister to identify the perpetrators for disciplinary action. The assailants of the journalist, having explicitly declared their action to be in retaliation for alleged insults against her, and having denied sanctioning the assault, the Minister owes it to herself to help the police find the thugs whose action seeks to bring her into disrepute.

Given the violence that was unleashed before and during the 2020 elections, including attacks on journalists, it is important for all stakeholders in the political arena to commit to tolerant, civil and violent-free conduct. To this end, all political parties and politicians must act lawfully and demonstrate abhorrence for lawless conduct by their supporters by punishing and publicly disowning them.

Ahmed Suale’s murder: Five years of pain, impunity, judicial lethargy

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Ahmed Suale’s murder: Five years of pain, impunity, judicial lethargy

Ahmed Suale, a member of the Tiger Eye PI investigative that produced the expose on corruption in African football, was gunned down by unknown assailants in Accra on January 16, 2019.

On the fifth anniversary of the journalist’s passing, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) retraces the events leading to, and since that single most appalling attack on press freedom in Ghana:

  1. May 2018 – A leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and MP, Kennedy Agyapong threatens to “expose” investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, if he goes ahead to screen the advertised investigative documentary on corruption in African football.
  2. June 6, 2018 – “Number 12”, the investigative documentary is publicly screened in Accra.
  3. The MP begins carrying out his threat, publishing photographs of members of the team including Anas and Suale who are always disguised.
  4. Agyapong escalates his campaign of hate against Ahmed Suale in particular, calling on his supporters to attack the journalist.
  5. January 16, 2019 – Unidentified gunmen waylay Ahmed Suale’s vehicle in traffic, shooting him
  6. January 21, 2019 – Police announce they have interrogated Ken Agyapong and former Ghana Football Association President, Kwesi Nyantakyi, in connection with the murder.
  7. January 22, 2019, a week after the murder, a high-powered police delegation visits the crime scene. They commiserate with Ahmed Suale’s family and assure them of apprehending and prosecuting the perpetrators.
  8. January 30, 2019 – Kennedy Agyapong says publicly that he does not regret blowing the cover of Ahmed Suale.
  9. February 7, 2019 – Police arrest six suspects over the murder. By March, all suspects are released for lack of evidence.
  10. March 18, 2019 – Ken Agyappong reveals that his campaign of attacks on the Tiger Eye team was instigated by leading members of the ruling NPP who felt Anas’ work was dangerous to the NPP.
  11. July 2019 – Ghana’s Attorney General announces she is yet to receive a docket on the Ahmed Suale case from the Police.
  12. September 9, 2019 – President Akufo-Addo says the assassination of Suale may not be necessarily connected to his job as a journalist and therefore not necessarily an attack on press freedom. The MFWA protests the President’s statement, describing it as unfortunate.
  13. May 24, 2021 – Ken Agyapong names one Ansu Gyeabour as the killer of Suale. Ansu Gyeabour refutes Ken Agyapong’s allegation.
  14. December 13, 2022 – At a forum to commemorate World Human Rights Day, Ghana’s Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, insinuates that the murder of Suale may be unconnected to his job as a journalist. The MFWA responds with an article.
  15. December 22, 2022 – President Akufo-Addo vows that his government will continue to search for the murderers of Suale.
  16. May 15, 2023 – Former President John Mahama and presidential candidate for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), pledges to pursue the case of Ahmed Hussein Suale if he is voted president in 2024.
  17. January 16, 2024 –The impunity, pain and judicial lethargy continues

Every minute of impunity over Ahmed Suale’s killing is a gain to his killers and an incentive for future perpetrators of attacks on journalists, human rights defenders or whistleblowers. We must not let it continue any minute longer.

The MFWA urges all actors in the media sector to remain steadfast in the demand for an end to impunity over Ahmed Suale’s murder. Despair is not an option.

MFWA collaborates with IPI to produce legal resource on Senegal

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MFWA collaborates with IPI to produce legal resource on Senegal

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has partnered with the International Press Institute (IPI) to produce a resource tool kit on the legal and regulatory frameworks governing the media in Senegal.

Senegalese digital rights group Jonction also contributed to the production of the tool kit which provides a comprehensive overview of the domestic, regional, and international frameworks protecting press freedom and access to information in Senegal.

While highlighting the legal foundations for press freedom in Senegal, the document also flags laws that undermine these fundamental rights, with a spotlight on recent press freedom violations in the country. These include the arrest and detention of several journalists on charges of publishing false information, discrediting the institutions of state, undermining national security or public order.

Senegal has always been widely admired for its robust democracy and respect for press freedom. However, the recent wave of repression of divergent voices has raised a lot of concern, especially as the country gears up for crucial elections in February 2024.

The tool kit is therefore expected to be a useful reference material for journalists, media defense organisations, media training institutions and other actors with a stake in peaceful and effective media coverage of the upcoming polls.

To that end, the document provides information on local organisations promoting media development and supporting press freedom in Senegal. Access the tool kit here.

https://ipi.media/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Senegal-ENG-resource_toolkit.pdf -English

ECOWAS and MFWA Sign Partnership Agreement

Kwaku Asante
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ECOWAS and MFWA Sign Partnership Agreement

On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) signed a historic four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU, signed by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray and the Executive Director of the MFWA, Mr. Sulemana Braimah, seeks to enhance collaboration and cooperation between the two organisations.

In pursuit of the objectives of the MoU, ECOWAS and MFWA will focus on a number of strategic areas of cooperation aimed at enhancing democratic values, media freedom and development, human rights and peace in the region.

The specific areas of cooperation include: building media capacity to contribute to enhancing democratic norms and values; enhancing the media’s role in countering narratives of violent extremism, polarisation, radicalization, mis/disinformation and hate speech; promoting media freedom, freedom of expression (online and offline) and access to information; and coordination with regional media partners to enhance citizens’ awareness of ECOWAS and its activities across Member States.

At the signing ceremony, the ECOWAS Commissioner for the Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah (PhD), reiterated the strategic role of the MFWA as a partner of choice that has the capacity to contribute to dealing with the critical challenges facing the region. He highlighted the role of the media in mobilising public opinion in support of democratic values and countering anti-democratic narratives that appear to be on the rise in the region.

Commissioner Adbel-Fatau Musah noted that the MoU with the MFWA was also critical because of the invaluable role of the media in promoting ECOWAS’ vision 2050, which is: ECOWAS of the peoples: peace and prosperity for all.

On his part, the Executive Director of the MFWA expressed his delight about the formalisation of relations between the two organisations, noting that the partnership provides a great opportunity to build synergies and leverage on each other’s capacities and resources to effectively confront the critical challenges facing the region.

In attendance at the signing ceremony were other senior ECOWAS officials and senior staff of the MFWA.

For more information, visit www.mfwa.org or email us at INFO[@]mfwa.org or call the MFWA on +233 302 -555327.

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A CEDEAO e a MFWA assinam um contrato de parceria

 Na terça-feira, dia 5 de dezembro de 2023, a Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Ocidental (CEDEAO) e a Fundação dos Media para África Ocidental (MFWA) assinaram um histórico Memorando de Entendimento de quatro anos.

O Memorando de Entendimento, assinado pelo Presidente da Comissão da CEDEAO, S.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray e pelo Diretor Executivo da MFWA, Sr. Sulemana Braimah, visa melhorar a colaboração e a cooperação entre as duas organizações.

Para alcançar os objectivos do Memorando de Entendimento, a CEDEAO e a MFWA centrar-se-ão numa série de áreas estratégicas de cooperação destinadas a reforçar os valores democráticos, a liberdade e o desenvolvimento dos meios de comunicação social, os direitos humanos e a paz na região.

As áreas específicas de cooperação incluem: Reforçar a capacidade dos meios de comunicação social para contribuir para o reforço das normas e valores democráticos; Reforçar o papel dos meios de comunicação social no combate ao extremismo violento, à polarização, à radicalização, à desinformação e ao discurso de ódio; Promover a liberdade dos meios de comunicação social, a liberdade de expressão (online ) online e offline) e acesso à informação; coordenar com os parceiros regionais da comunicação social para aumentar a sensibilização dos cidadãos para a CEDEAO e as suas atividades nos Estados-Membros.

Na cerimónia de assinatura, o Comissário da CEDEAO para os Assuntos Políticos, Paz e Segurança (PAPS), Embaixador (PhD) Abdel-Fathau Moussa, reafirmou o papel estratégico da MFWA como parceiro preferencial com a capacidade de contribuir para lidar com os desafios críticos que a região enfrenta. Ele enfatizou o papel dos meios de comunicação social na mobilização da opinião pública em apoio aos valores democráticos e na luta contra ao que parece ser um número crescente de retórica antidemocrática na região.

O Comissário Adbel-Fatau Musah observou que o Memorando de Entendimento com a MFWA também é crucial, uma vez que os meios de comunicação social desempenham um papel valioso na promoção da Visão 2050 da CEDEAO, nomeadamente: CEDEAO dos Povos: Paz e Prosperidade para Todos.

O Director Executivo da MFWA expressou satisfação com a formalização da relação entre as duas organizações, observando que esta parceria é uma excelente oportunidade para criar sinergias e alavancar as capacidades e recursos de cada uma para enfrentar eficazmente os desafios críticos que a região enfrenta.

A cerimónia de assinatura contou com a presença de outros altos funcionários da CEDEAO e da MFWA.

Barely 6% of women get elected in District-level elections in Ghana: Media must help change the narrative

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Barely 6% of women get elected in District-level elections in Ghana: Media must help change the narrative

On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, Ghanaians will head for the polls to elect district and unit committee members. Ahead of the polls, the Senior Programme Manager for Media and Good Governance at the MFWA, Abigail Larbi-Odei, calls on the media to play a frontline role in encouraging Ghanaians to vote for women.

Women form 50.7% of Ghana’s population but less than six percent of them get elected in District-level elections. Analysis of two data sets obtained from the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), and the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, through a Right to Information request, show that since 1994, about 2,059 females have been elected in total as against a staggering 34,460 males. The highest number of elected women was recorded in 2006 when 478 got elected as Assembly Members even though still insignificant compared to the number of mails elected. 

Elected Females in District elections in Ghana
Year Female % Male % Total elected
1994 122 2.9 4082 97.1 4,204
1998 196 4.1 4624 95.9 4,820
2002 341 7.4 4241 92.6 4,582
2006 478 10.1 4254 89.9 4,732
2010 412 6.8 5681 93.2 6,093
2015 276 4.7 5654 95.3 5,930
2019 234 3.8 5,924 96.2 6,158

Data from NALAG (1994-2010); Electoral Commission of Ghana (2015-2019)

The statistics also show that since 2010, the number of women elected as assembly members has been declining. Even with the power of appointment of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), the figures are less than impressive as only 38 women representing a mere 15 percent, made it to the list.

Women’s representation in the District Assemblies have fallen short of the 30 percent UN-recommended minimum threshold since the introduction of the decentralized system in Ghana in 1988. This is despite the many treaties and conventions the country has signed on to promote gender equality and diversity in decision making. Regrettably, after many years of advocacy, it appears the much-anticipated Affirmative Action Bill will still have to wait another haul, as Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament recently rejected calls for the passage of the bill under a certificate of urgency.

Ghana’s decentralization agenda in the promise of delivering governance at the doorstep of the people, provides opportunities in the communities where both women and men discover their voices, assert their rights and mobilize to achieve developmental goals. However, factors such as women’s concerns over public abuse, time constraints, lack of adequate role models, family concerns about their prospects, economic challenges amidst partisan impact negatively on the participation of women in district level elections.

As emphasized in a keynote presentation by local government expert, Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, “local government is the basic arena for social services that impact on women’s reproductive and domestic activities”. There is therefore the need to raise the level of gender equality by voting more women into the District Assemblies to promote inclusion; equitable allocation of public resources and public accountability. The continuous underrepresentation of women in political decision-making in Ghana, jeopardizes the country’s potential to harness diverse leadership opportunities and to realize the Sustainable Development Goals.

On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, Ghanaians will head to the polls in the 8th District Assembly elections to elect assembly and unit committee members. The elections are expected to take place in 6,272 electoral areas and 38,622 polling stations nationwide in 259 districts out of a total of 261. At a press conference to announce the date for the elections, Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs Jean Mensa, said the Commission had targeted a 60 per cent voter turnout for this year’s DLE, appealling to the media to help create awareness and educate the public on the essence of the exercise.

There is evidence to suggest that media visibility strongly improves the chances of women being more heard and seen, and also getting elected. As agenda setters and influencers of public opinion, the Ghanaian media must support the #Voteforwomen agenda by using their platforms to feature more women; influence opinion on the importance of women’s presence in the local assembly leadership, shattering misconceptions and hindrances. They should also play the balancing role of ensuring a level playing field and resisting the negative narratives and control of information by class, partisanship, economic interests, gender and social status.

Local based media must particularly project women candidates in their localities, highlighting their capacities, strengths, visions, track records and communities must include them in local governance processes. They should endeavour to provide news in language and format that people can access to keep women on the front burner of the minds of citizens.

Ahead of the 2023 DLE, several organisations such as the Media Foundation for West Africa, Alliance for Women in Media Africa (AWMA), Abantu for Development, and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) have engaged extensively in capacitating female aspirants and creating more opportunities for increased women’s visibility while also conscientizing Ghanaians to vote for more women.

Let’s be deliberate!

Vote for a woman; change the status quo.

Best wishes to all the phenomenal women contesting the 2023 District Level Elections.

How access to information laws influence investigative journalism in West Africa

Kwaku Asante
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How access to information laws influence investigative journalism in West Africa

Although the enactment of Access to Information (ATI) laws has been helpful in investigative reporting in West Africa, journalists say there are major setbacks.

At a webinar organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) on how investigative journalists can use ATI laws to enhance their reportage, a mixed-bag of concerns were raised by journalists in Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone.

A senior journalist with the Premium Times, a leading investigative newsroom in Nigeria, Ameh Ejekwonyilo, said the country’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act has been a “veritable tool.”

He said the Premium Times has relied on the law to write some great stories.

However, as a reporter focused on the judiciary, a sector known to be “conservative” rather than generous in providing information, he said it has been challenging for him to obtain information through the FOI Act.

“It’s been quite difficult to use the Freedom of Information Act to extract the necessary information that we need in the course of reporting,” he said.

When Nigeria’s FOI Act was passed in 2011, government institutions in the country set up desks to provide requested information. The institutions are mandated to provide the information within seven days. When it is impossible for this statutory period to be obeyed because of the volume of information requested, the institution is required to write to the requesting entity.

Although they are supposed to, “not all government agencies respond” to requested information, Ameh said. As a result, in his reporting, the FOI Act is used as a “last resort” when informal sources fail him.

Regardless of the challenges Nigerian journalists face in using the Act, the Premium Times has devised a means that forces institutions to respond to their requests. Their journalists demand that the institutions they request information from acknowledge receipt of their letters on a different copy of the letter. When the seven days elapse without any communication from an organisation, they write to indicate that the institution is in breach of the law. And if there is still no response, and their stories are ready, they publish them with the acknowledged letters embedded to show that they sought a response but were refused.

“We’ve done that several times. By doing that, it became obvious that organisations are compelled to respond because it embarrasses them when it is reported that they refused to comply. That has been our strategy over time and it has worked for us as an organisation,” he said.

This strategy has also been extensively used by The Fourth Estate, MFWA’s public interest and accountability journalism outlet.

A senior journalist at The Fourth Estate, Seth Bokpe, told the webinar’s participants that Ghana’s Right to Information (RTI) Law has been very helpful. He said the law, which was passed in 2019 but became effective in 2020, allowed both experienced and entry-level journalists to obtain credible information to do impactful journalism.

The Fourth Estate has used the RTI to reveal how over a hundred water producers were producing water without licences from Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority.

Public officials in Ghana are mandated to declare their assets. However, this law has been flouted for years. Information obtained through the RTI law formed the basis of a story that compelled many Members of Parliament and political appointees in Ghana to comply with the asset declaration law.

Despite these successes, there are several constraints in the implementation of the RTI law in Ghana.

Seth said sometimes “it takes basically forever” for public institutions to release requested information. He added that there have been a few instances that the data provided were not reliable.

Unlike Nigeria which lacks a specified body (Commission) mandated with the implementation of the ATI law, Ghana’s law empowers the Right to Information Commission to ensure institutions are complying with the law.

The Commission has fined several public institutions for their refusal to provide requested information. The institutions are not paying the fines. And many of them are not providing the information though they have been fined.

According to Seth, the institutions assume that the moment they are fined they are not required to furnish the information.

“The fine is not a substitute for the information requested,” the seasoned journalist said.

Ghana’s access to information law gives institutions 14 days to provide requested information. If the information is not provided, the applicant is required to send another letter to the head of the institution. This takes 15 days. After this period, the applicant is supposed to notify the RTI Commission of the refusal.

Seth said the final decision from the Commission takes too long. There is no specific time for the Commission to make a determination on a request.

“At least they should give themselves 60 days, because we are journalists, what we need is information. If the commission does not do its work, it defeats the purpose,” Seth said.

If an applicant or an institution is not satisfied with the decision of the RTI Commission, he or she can take it up to the High Court. The Minerals Commission in Ghana demanded $1,000 from The Fourth Estate to provide information requested under the RTI Law in 2021.

The Fourth Estate petitioned the RTI Commission on the charge. The RTI commission ruled that the Minerals Commission should release the information to The Fourth Estate at GH¢1.90 (less than a dollar) for PDF copies and GH¢1.80 (less than a dollar) per page for an A4 photocopy.

The Minerals Commission disagreed with the RTI Commission’s ruling and went to both the high court and the Court of Appeal to challenge it. Both courts upheld the RTI Commission’s ruling. And it took more than a year for the case to be finalised.

Ameh of the Premium Times in Nigeria said though defaulting organisations can be prosecuted, cases that end up in court “take forever” to reach a determination.

“So, that discourages a lot of journalists from filing the FOI requests,” Ameh, who is also a Digital Public Infrastructure Fellow at the MFWA, said.

A fellow of the MFWA’s Next Generation Investigative Journalism Fellowship, Victor Jones, said during the webinar that although Sierra Leone’s access to information law is one of the best in Africa, its implementation has been appalling.

“Yes indeed, we have one of the most fantastic laws on access to information in Africa. That doesn’t transcend, anyway, into the implementation of same. I laughed when I was being introduced to it. These laws are mere white elephants,” he said.

He stressed that state authorities in Sierra Leone have consistently refused to provide requested information, especially from journalists. He has requested information from several state agencies this year but has received none.

“One of our veteran journalists, the BBC’s Umaru Fofana, has made several requests to several offices in Sierra Leone. None of his requests has been responded to,” he said.

Victor said Chapter 12 of the country’s law on access to information labels some information as exempted from being released to the public. He has, however, observed that this caveat in the law has been used by most institutions to deny many requests.

As a result, he thinks that the law, although made to make Sierra Leone a transparent society devoid of corruption, “in actual fact it supports corruption to thrive”.

During his time as a fellow at the MFWA, Victor recounted how his critical reporting of the Sierra Leonean government cost him his job as a news anchor at Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation. According to him, one of the major impediments in the implementation of the access to information law in his country is that the judiciary does not enforce the rights of citizens. The posture of the judiciary, to him, therefore, emboldens institutions to flout the law, which was passed in 2013.

After the disputed elections in Sierra Leone early this year, a lawyer requested the country’s electoral management body to provide him with a breakdown of the results. He was refused. He decided to appeal the matter in court. In the end, the court sued him for contempt because he had made a statement on social media.

“The man had asked for information. It was not provided. So, he turned to the judiciary for them to assist him. What they did was to sue the very person who had sued the electoral commission of Sierra Leone. So that is what it is. And that was done to a lawyer. A very seasoned, senior legal scholar and lecturer in Sierra Leone,” Victor said.

These instances have created a pessimistic cloud in Victor’s mind. He is convinced that the access to information law, although “fantastic” on paper, “is partly the reason why investigative journalism is not thriving in Sierra Leone.”

WAMECA 2023: Media must build strong alliances to counter anti-democratic tendencies in Africa

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WAMECA 2023: Media must build strong alliances to counter anti-democratic tendencies in Africa

Despite the appreciable steady progress in democratic governance in West Africa, the region has in the last couple of years faced a drastic decline in its democratic order. The rollback has been marked by amendment of constitutions, presidential term elongations, coordinated attacks on dissenting voices and a shrinking civic space. The most worrisome has been the recent wave of military coup d’états in the Sahel, with the media and critical journalists coming under attacks.

At the 2023 edition of the West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA 2023) held under the theme: Media and Democracy in Africa, delegates called for a frontline role of the media in the fight to reverse democratic recession in Africa. They emphasised the urgent need for media organizations across the continent to build strong alliances, both at the subregional and continental levels, as a means of strengthening and amplifying their voices against the anti-democratic tendencies on the continent, especially, West Africa.

The call was part of a raft of recommendations that came out of WAMECA 2023 which was held in Ghana’s capital, Accra from the 9th to the 10th of November 2023. The conference provided convergence for stakeholders, including academics, journalists, diplomats, members of the ECOWAS High Commission, and Civil Society organizations, Government actors and other stakeholders of democracy and media from across the African continent. These stakeholders pondered the current state of democracy in Africa and the media’s crucial role in rebuilding and consolidating democratic norms.

Democratic recession in Africa

Since August 2020, there have been eight coups d’etat in Africa. As a consequence, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Mali, Guinea and Gabon, have come under the rule of military juntas which have often cited elected governments’ failure to ensure safety and security as justification for their insurrections. Amidst this, the media in African democracies have largely become extremely partisan, a fact that has eroded trust in the content that the media produce. The civic space has also become constricted, with media freedom heavily hampered.

Stakeholders speak

The mutual fate of democracy and media freedom was emphasized by stakeholders, including Media scholar and expert, Professor Kwame Karikari. In a statement at the opening of the conference, Prof Karikari regretted that “…the promise of democracy, which motivated the popular movement for constitutional governance in the early 1990s, and had free and transparent multi-party elections, human rights, freedom of expression, etc, as its principal benefits, are, today, under siege across our continent.”

WAMECA 2023 keynote speaker, Ambassador Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) at the ECOWAS Commission, in a statement read on his behalf, also expressed concern at how anti-democratic forces have managed to either silence the media or gotten some media organizations on their side, as they carry out assault on the pillars of democracy with claims that democracy has failed in the subregion.

He cited junta ruled Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger as places where the anti-democratic forces are carrying out disinformation campaigns in attempt to construct and inculcate the narrative that democracy has failed in West Africa. Ambassador Fatau called for a West African blue print on how best the media and democracy relationship can be fashioned and utilized as an agency that promotes stable democratic systems, good governance, sustainable peace and development.”

The Media’s role

According to consensus from the conference, the media’s watchdog role remains indispensable for democracy in Africa and critically so in the enterprise to rebuild and consolidate democratic gains on the continent. Stakeholders observed that governments, especially autocratic and authoritarian ones, which have the natural proclivity to want to silence dissent, go after the media. For instance, in Burkina Faso, the junta has adopted a policy of conscripting its critics, including journalists, to fight jihadist terrorists. In Mali, excerpts of the tattered state of free expression include the military junta jailing activists and demanding that all journalists join in praise singing for the regime. Regrettably in Senegal, a country that has traditionally been regarded as a press freedom champion, journalists have become an endangered species as the government of Macky Sall brutally hounds the opposition and other dissenters.

There’s still hope for democracy

In spite of the decline however, research, continues to affirm that the majority of Africans prefer democracy to any other form of government. In round 8 of Afrobarometer’s survey (2019-2021), 68% of Africans surveyed across 34 on the continent said they preferred democracy. An even larger majority, 74%, rejected military rule, while 77% and 82% rejected one-party rule and “strongman” rule respectively.

Consequently, stakeholders averred that given that the majority of Africans still prefer democracy, there is still hope to rebuild and consolidate faith in democracy, and this requires the efforts of all stakeholders, more critically, the media.

Key Recommendations

After two days of deliberations on Media and Democracy in Africa, stakeholders including governments, political parties, the ECOWAS High Commission and the media made the following key recommendations.

  • The media’s role as checkmate of government should be bolstered as this is an indispensable way of keeping duty bearers under the watchful eyes of the citizens. However, as the media in the various countries are weak on their own, stakeholders advised that active collaboration be forged among media organizations across the continent as a way of bolstering their voices for a stronger effect. Media organizations across the subregion should also build alliances that improve their watchdog role for democracy and strengthen their voices against anti-democratic activities. These alliances should be among media association groups with pro-democracy agenda. Such a region or continent-wide media alliance should come together and adopt a blueprint on reportage and programming that fosters the tenets and principles of democracy.
  • The media should also collaborate with civil society organizations to promote educational programmes/campaigns that help citizens realize and understand their indispensable role in building the democratic culture.
  • Finally, as agenda setters and influencers of public opinion, the media and journalists should wean themselves off political allegiances that skew their reportage and programming and further endangers the democratic culture and ensure professionalism in their work.

WAMECA 2023 Supporters

WAMECA 2023 was supported by the US Embassy in Accra, the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network(WADEMOS) and OXFAM in Ghana. It was also supported by MTN Ghana and Stanbic Bank Ghana. 

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