Albert Kwabena Dwumfour: GJA President urges AG to release investigative report on Ahmed Suale’s murder

The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour has urged the Attorney-General to release the investigative report on the murder of undercover journalist Ahmed Suale.

This follows Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame’s statement on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, revealing that no prosecutable docket has been submitted to his office regarding Suale’s murder. As the investigation progresses, four suspects initially detained have been released on police enquiry bail due to lack of identification by eyewitnesses.

Speaking to Accra-based Citi News, the GJA President questioned the Attorney-General’s decision not to release the investigative report despite stating the docket’s inadequacy for prosecution.

He also criticized security agencies in the country for their perceived lack of seriousness in addressing attacks on journalists.

“As we speak today, we still haven’t gotten anywhere with investigations. The Attorney-General will come out and tell you that he has still not received any docket fit for prosecution. If you have not received a docket fit for prosecution, why don’t you make the docket you have received known to the public? It means that there’s still a docket, if it’s not fit for prosecution, give us the state of the investigative report on the matter.”

Dwumfour also highlighted the apparent disparity in the treatment of attacks on the media compared to other crimes, questioning the last time a politician was arrested for assaulting a journalist.

“So that at least we can all go to sleep and say that this is what the police have gotten to. We are in this country where police officers were shot dead and in a matter of 24/48 hours, police have arrested [suspects]. Without any lead, they have been arrested and prosecuted, and some are on remand. So, that should tell you the unseriousness the security agencies or companies attach to the attacks on the media. This very real,” he pointed out.

“When was the last time you heard that a politician or a preparator of an attack on the media has been placed behind bars? They don’t take issues concerning the media very seriously,” he added.

Ahmed Suale was fatally shot on January 16, 2019, by two assailants on a motorbike with a concealed license plate in Madina.

Source: Newsalertgh