Ghana's President Mahama Fails to Protect Journalists from Attacks

When Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama became president in January 2025, he promised to bring back "an era of true media freedom." Journalists thought that attacks on the press would be taken more seriously now.

But during Mahama’s time in office, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has recorded eight incidents where at least 17 journalists were attacked with almost no consequences for the attackers. Police, firefighters, and soldiers attacked eight journalists, while illegal miners and other unidentified individuals attacked nine others.

“We need justice,” said reporter Samuel Addo, who was attacked by firefighters on January 5 while recording the aftermath of a market fire. “We are not safe.”

CPJ spoke with journalists involved in these incidents to see if they received any justice. Almost all of them called for law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those responsible. Many wanted the authorities to make public statements about steps towards accountability. But the inaction has left them feeling unsafe and discouraged.

Mahama: ‘They must be dealt with firmly’

“I am a journalist by training. So, there’s no way we will accept the continued assault on journalists,” Mahama told Ghana Broadcasting Corporation during a visit to the state-owned station in January 2026.

“We need to teach many of our security personnel that while they are doing their job of providing safety, journalists are also doing their job of informing the people. Occasionally these things will happen. But when they do, they must be dealt with firmly,” he added.

When Mahama was asked about Addo’s case, he said he thought those involved had been identified and “interdicted.” CPJ and Addo found no proof of this.

On June 3, communications minister Samuel Nartey George repeated Mahama’s promise to media freedom, saying the president “sees the press as the heart of the nation’s democracy.”

But attacks on the press under Mahama continue a long history of abuse, including the unresolved murder of investigative reporter Ahmed Divela in 2019.

“Nothing changed when Mahama took over,” said Charles Mensah, a TV producer attacked while covering elections in Ghana’s southern Ashanti region in 2025.

Journalists told CPJ they carried official press identification, like “Press” jackets and ID cards, or they clearly identified themselves as journalists.

“They detained me after they knew that I was a journalist. So as a journalist, I feel like I am not safe,” said Solomon Kanaluwe, who was beaten by soldiers in January.

“It has discouraged me from going out there to cover stories and risking my life,” he added.

Compensation for damaged equipment

After each attack, journalists said they reported what happened to the police.

The only time there was evidence of justice was when a court ordered illegal miners to compensate a journalist whose equipment was damaged. Jacob Adu-Baah, Akwasi Annim, and Henry Emil confirmed the prosecution of the illegal miners who attacked them in 2025. Annim received compensation for his damaged equipment.

The three journalists told CPJ they were let down that the court did not address the illegal mining they had been reporting on. Adu-Baah said he took a month off “to get a mental check before returning to work.”

While less publicized than the president’s claim that the firefighters were being held accountable, police raised false hopes of justice for reporter Kwabena Banahene.

Days after police attacked Banahene while he was covering local elections in 2025, the outlet 3News reported that a police officer was in custody for assault. Banahene told CPJ that a police officer also showed him a written order from the attorney general indicating his attacker would be prosecuted.

But he has not received any more updates.

“I don’t know whether the case is ongoing or not,” Banahene told CPJ.

‘Nobody has contacted me’

In all other cases, journalists got no updates from authorities. Some felt that effective investigations were unlikely when soldiers were involved.

“The armed forces said they are investigating. Nobody has contacted me,” Kanaluwe said. “Even the police. When we reported, they followed me to the scene and said they would get back to me. Since then, I have not heard from them.”

Military officers also beat journalists Tahiru Ibrahim and Dokurugu Alhassan while they were filming a bus on fire. The journalists said police told them they could not interfere with military actions. Alhassan said he received no follow-up.

“It has affected me very negatively,” Alhassan told CPJ, sharing his fear of reporting from places where security forces are present. “Sometimes there will be news in town, and when you see the people involved, you can’t go there. If you go, they will beat you up again.”

Ghana Armed Forces’ acting director of public relations, Veronica Arhin, asked CPJ to send a written request for comment to the Chief of Defence Staff William Agyapong. CPJ’s email to the address listed on the Ghana Armed Forces website received no reply. CPJ’s calls and texts to police director of public affairs Grace Ansah-Akrofi requesting comment also received no response.

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Here are details of the 17 journalists’ cases since Mahama took office, and what, if any, justice they received:

• On February 21, 2025, police escorted ABC News reporter Jacob Adu-Baah, Channel One TV and Citi FM correspondent Akwasi Agyei Annim, and Angel TV reporter Henry Fynn Emil into a forest in Adomanya in Ghana’s Western Region, where they were attacked by suspected illegal miners. The attackers twisted Annim’s arm and damaged his phone and camera. The three had been reporting on illegal gold mining. On March 5, 2025, a judge ordered that the miners pay 37,000 cedis (US$ 2,385) to replace Annim’s damaged items, which he received.
• On February 11, 2025, five journalists, GhanaWeb correspondent Gideon Nana Peprah, Angel Broadcasting Network reporter Gabriel Kwasi Oppong, Lawson TV producer Charles Awuah Mensah, Oyerepa Radio and TV reporter Kofi Adede, and Oseikrom Dawuro newspaper editor Henry Atta Kotei, were hit and slapped by at least 14 unidentified men while covering regional elections in the southern Ashanti region. Peprah and Mensah told CPJ they received no updates about the police investigation, blaming the silence on the influence of politicians, whose associates they believe orchestrated the assault. “We journalists are not safe, and we must not rely solely on the police for our protection during our work,” Mensah said. CPJ’s April 20 calls and texts to the Ashanti regional minister, Frank Amoakohene, did not receive any replies.
• On February 12, 2025, Zaa Multimedia reporter Tahiru Apiliye Ibrahim and Asaase Radio correspondent Dokurugu Alhassan were beaten by six military officers after they filmed a bus on fire in the northeastern Mamprusi community. When they reported the incident, police said they could do nothing about military actions. Alhassan told CPJ the situation deepened his concern for his safety at work.
• On July 11, 2025, a police officer slapped GHOne TV reporter Kwabena Agyekum Banahene when a polling station for a local election on the outskirts of Accra was overrun by a group of men who attacked a candidate. Banahene said authorities failed to hold the officer accountable. ATV Ghana reporter Vida Wiafe was also hit with pepper spray from the police.
• On July 11, 2025, at the same polling station, Joy News reporter Sally Martey was struck and shoved by a partially masked man. Martey said authorities have failed to hold the attacker accountable.
• On July 30, 2025, Joy News anchor and producer Carlos Lorlornyo Atsu Calony was attacked and Joy News camera operator Jonas Zodzi Voergborlo was threatened by at least seven military officers as they covered the demolition of a building in Accra. Calony told CPJ that authorities took their statements but had not been in contact since. “We are not safe,” Calony said. “If you allow yourself to be a victim of anything of this sort, no one will come to your aid.”
• On January 5, 2026, about 10 firefighters punched and hit Class Media Group producer Samuel Addo to stop him filming the firefighters’ assault on the public after a market fire. Addo said the firefighters seized his phone, which was returned after a local lawmaker intervened. He lost 10,000 cedis (US$901) during the five-minute assault in Kasoa, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Accra. Videos shared online showed firefighters clashing with the public and attacking Addo. The fire service said in a statement that there had been an “altercation between firefighters and a suspected thief,” and that “the alleged assault of a journalist is under police investigation.” Mahama stated that Addo’s attackers were being investigated. Addo told CPJ that neither the police nor any other authorities had contacted him after an initial interview.
• On January 26, 2026, two military officers in Walewale, in Ghana’s northeast region, flogged Solomon Kwame Kanaluwe and factory-reset his phone after he introduced himself as a journalist.