Ghana press body condemns killing of journalist

Media representatives in Ghana on Thursday condemned the killing of an investigative journalist.

Ahmed Hussein-Suale was shot three times on Wednesday by men on a motorbike while driving home from work in the capital Accra, said his production company Tiger Eye PI.

Speaking at Thursday’s press conference, Affail Monney, President of Ghana Journalists’ Association called on Ghanaian authorities to bring Hussein-Suale’s killers to book.

“We also appeal to His Excellency the President Nana Akufo-Addo, as a head of the executive arm of government, to take personal interest in seeing to the bottom of this matter. Furthermore, we call on parliament as representatives of the people to take the necessary actions that would instil a sense of safety not only in the media, but also among the general populace of Ghana. We also urge the judiciary to deal mercilessly with anyone found guilty of such heinous crimes.”

Hussein-Suale was part of a team led by well-known undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. Their crew is famous for a documentary last year that accused 77 referees and Ghana’s then soccer chief Kwesi Nyantakyi of taking bribes.

“We will resist anything of this nature and that it is abominable, it is condemnable, and it cannot be something that might be tolerated in any democratic environment,” said Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Chair of Ghana’s National Media Commission.

The killing came as a shock in Ghana, whose vibrant press enjoys relative freedom compared to many African nations.