The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Hawa Koomson, is considering legal action against the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for allegedly implicating her in a supposed attack on a journalist in the Central Region.
According to the MP, the call by the GJA President for the media to blacklist her over the incident is unfair because the GJA has not properly investigated the alleged assault on a Cape FM journalist.
She said she did not take the matter seriously initially because she was focused on her parliamentary primaries.
The Minister is thus demanding a retraction of the media blackout statement or the presentation of evidence supporting the assault allegation.
“I had planned to respond to the GJA declaration, but my election activities didn’t allow me. Now that I am done with the election, I can respond. I was in Cape Coast for vetting, and I even spoke to the media after my vetting, but no one approached me about the issue. I was quite surprised when I heard about the assault in the media space.”
“I don’t think the GJA has conducted a thorough investigation into the matter before issuing the blacklist against me. The GJA President promised to send me the footage of the incident, but until now, I have not heard from him. I am challenging him to provide evidence of the assault proving that I was behind it or to apologize to me. If not, we will meet in court,” Mavis Hawa Koomson told the media after emerging victorious in the parliamentary primary.
On January 25, the GJA directed journalists to avoid covering any activities involving the Awutu Senya East MP following an alleged attack on a journalist allegedly by the MP’s thugs during the NPP’s parliamentary aspirants’ vetting in Cape Coast.
In a statement released by her Press Secretary, Kabore Awudu Moro, the legislator expressed concern about the GJA’s decision.
He said, “The Honourable Minister acknowledges the vital role of the media in our democracy and is committed to fostering an environment that safeguards journalists in their duty.
“While unequivocally condemning the reported incident, she vehemently denies all accusations levelled against her and her associates.”
“The Honourable Minister urges the GJA leadership to reconsider the blacklisting decision, emphasising the absence of evidence implicating her in the incident,” the statement added.