Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Mensah Thompson, has strongly criticized the Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, for his opposition to the directive issued by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to blacklist Members of Parliament accused of assaulting journalists.
The GJA’s directive targeted specifically the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Hawa Koomson, and the MP for Yendi, Farouk Mahama, both of whom are alleged to have assaulted journalists.
However, Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, the Chairman of NMC, has taken a different stance, labeling the directive as “dysfunctional and unproductive” to the public interest. He advocates for the utilization of legal avenues to address acts of impunity against journalists.
During an interview on Breakfast Daily with David Kwaku Sakyi on February 12, 2024, Mensah Thompson expressed disappointment with the Chairman’s comments.
Mr Thompson characterized Ayeboafo as a failed journalist who has neglected to acknowledge the assaults against his former colleagues.
He said, “So you people, they are beating you, they are not paying you well, they are disrespecting you, you rise to the position when you can take decisions to protect your fellow members, look at the ridiculousness of the things he is saying.
“That I should sit down for somebody to come to my house, come and attack me, come and beat me to a pulp, the following day I should give the same person a platform to come and talk, according to this man, a former journalist, he should be ashamed of himself.”