Fatimatu Abubakar, the Minister of Information, has condemned CNN International correspondent, Larry Madowo, for his report on the Democracy Hub protest held recently in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
The demonstrators who trooped to the streets to protest to the government to act on the ongoing illegal mining activities otherwise known as ‘galamsey’, got over 50 of them arrested and detained.
Trooping to his X, Madowo said his observation from the demonstration which was slated between September 21 and 23 had Ghanaian authorities detaining people for protesting peacefully against illegal mining.
“I’ll be watching Ghana’s president speak in New York this morning as police in Accra continue to detain peaceful protesters against illegal mining. People are rallying under #FreeTheCitizens after Ghanaian police violently broke up 3 days of #StopGalamseyNow protests,” Larry Madowo wrote on his X handle.
In reaction, the Information Minister, Abubakar, also on her X Thursday, September 26, criticised the journalist for misrepresenting the facts of the matter.
She asked Mr. Madowo to factor responsible journalism when reporting on issues as critical as demonstrations when varying opinions come to play.
The Minister said the report was skewed only on the arrests making it misleading and unfair.
“Dear @LarryMadowo, Please do well to check and report on both sides of a story when making publications that impact a country’s image. Ghana has always supported citizens’ right to demonstrate peacefully.”
“However, acts of vandalism, attacks on police, and disruptions to public order will always be contained by the Police in any jurisdiction,” Fatimatu Abubakar also posted.