Press Freedom Without Protection: Why Ghana’s Journalists Still Bleed For The Story

 By Shine Esi Kwawukumey 

Ghana is often praised as a model for press freedom in West Africa, with a Constitution that guarantees media independence, rejects censorship, and protects journalists from intimidation.

But beyond the global rankings and commendations, many reporters covering the country’s most sensitive and volatile stories still rely on little more than a notebook, a phone, and their own courage.

From election grounds and protest marches to illegal mining sites, corruption exposés and crime scenes, journalists work largely without insurance, protective equipment, digital security tools or formal safety training. For many, the risk is not hypothetical.

It is physical, psychological and, in some cases, life-altering.

Interviews with journalists, editors, regulators, lawyers and security experts point to a stark contradiction at the heart of Ghana’s media ecosystem: safety is often an afterthought, acknowledged forcefully only after an attack.

Jonathan Rozen, CPJ

“Despite its reputation as a stable democracy, Ghana is a country where journalists are regularly attacked in connection with their work,” said Jonathan Rozen, Programme Coordinator for Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

CPJ has for years documented assaults on journalists covering elections, political party activities, environmental crimes and illegal mining. Accountability, Rozen said, remains rare.

“Impunity is particularly glaring in the case of Ahmed Hussein-Suale,” he noted. “After nearly seven years and repeated statements of commitment from political leaders, no one has been held responsible.

Unfortunately, this mirrors a global pattern.”

Violence without consequence

For many journalists, danger is not discussed in theory or confined to safety workshops. It is something they have survived, often with little institutional support.

William Jalulah Nlanjerbor, a former editor and Manager at A1 radio in the Upper East Region of Ghana, was attacked in 2009 while covering a political victory rally at Nangodi.

“I was slapped from behind, dragged into a gutter, beaten until I became unconscious,” he recalled.

His camera was smashed, his shirt torn. He was rushed to a clinic and later to a police station to secure a medical report. Despite filing a police complaint and submitting evidence for medical treatment at the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, the case collapsed.

“Nothing happened at the end of the day,” he said. “I even had to go back months later to collect my damaged camera from the police.”

Years later, he was assaulted again – this time by police officers – while covering a different incident. That case also went nowhere.

“In all these instances, the perpetrators knew they were beating a journalist who was just doing his work.” Nlanjerbor said. “That is the most painful part.”

His experience reflects a broader pattern. The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) recorded at least 13 attacks on journalists between January and October 2025, cutting across Accra, Ashanti, Central and Northern regions.

Dominic Hlordzi, General Secretary GJA

“These are only the cases reported to us,” said Dominic Hlordzi, GJA General Secretary and Editor-in-Chief at Radio Ghana and GTV.

“There are many instances where journalists quietly settle with their attackers or simply move on because they don’t believe justice will be served.”

Silence, many say, has become a survival strategy.

Some journalists fear retaliation. Others are exhausted by slow investigations, weak prosecutions or punishments that fail to deter repeat attacks. In some newsrooms, reporters are quietly advised not to “escalate” incidents.

The result is systemic underreporting that masks the scale of the crisis.

Dora B. Mawutor, MFWA

“An attack against one journalist is not just an individual matter,” said Dora B. Mawutor, Director of the Freedom of Expression Programme at the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). “It creates fear across the profession and leads to self-censorship.”

She warned that the damage extends beyond the immediate victim.

“When journalists see what happens to colleagues who are attacked and receive no justice, they begin to avoid certain stories.” Mawutor said.

George Sarpong,  General Secretary NMC

The National Media Commission (NMC) acknowledges that many cases never reach formal investigation. Its General Secretary, George Sarpong, said journalists often choose not to report attacks.

“When journalists are attacked, they do not complain.” Sarpong said.

“There are a number of reasons why journalists don’t report.”

Some, he said, rely on public sympathy rather than formal processes. Others struggle to produce the evidence required to sustain investigations.

“There have been situations where something has happened, it’s in the public domain, but when we try to investigate, the people pull off,” he said.

Safety priced out of the newsroom

Analysts say the roots of the problem lie not only in weak accountability, but also in how Ghana’s media industry treats safety.

Dr. Emmanuel Sowatey 

“No, Ghana’s media sector does not treat safety as a high-priority cost,” said Dr. Emmanuel Sowatey, a criminologist and security analyst.

“If budgets are being cut, safety is usually one of the first things to suffer.”

Awareness alone, he added, does not guarantee protection.

“You can be aware and still not care,” he said. “Awareness does not always translate into action.”

Adib Saani, Executive Director JCHSP

Adib Saani, Executive Director of the Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peacebuilding, was even more direct.

“Most media houses in Ghana have not done any form of security training for their journalists,” he said. “They only act when the worst-case scenario happens.”

Charles Suglo, Newsroom Manager 

Inside newsrooms, managers acknowledge the gaps. Charles Suglo, a newsroom manager at Hills FM in the Volta Region, said safety is rarely planned for.

“In most newsrooms, there is no specific budget line for journalist safety,” he said. “Safety training and insurance are seen as luxuries rather than necessities.”

Joshua Asaah, Head of News A1 Radio 

Joshua Asaah, Head of News at A1 Radio in the Upper East Region, echoed that assessment.

“There are no clear safety policies in most newsrooms” Asaah said.

“When journalists are attacked, management responds, but there is usually no prior planning or protection in place.”

Nothing illustrates that neglect more starkly than the absence of insurance.

“It beats my imagination how owners of media houses would not insure journalists, knowing how dangerous this work can be” Saani said.

“Insurance is not optional. It is critical.”

Without cover, injured journalists pay medical bills themselves. Psychological trauma is rarely addressed. Families are left exposed when journalists are seriously injured or killed.

During the 2020 general elections, the GJA secured a temporary insurance package with SIC Insurance for journalists on election duty.

“Some journalists who were attacked benefited from that arrangemen,” Hlordzi said. “But that approach is not sustainable.”

He said the obligation is clear.

“It is the duty of media owners to insure their journalists,” he said.

The law is clear. Protection is not.

Under Ghanaian law, journalist safety is not a favour from employers – it is an obligation.

Lawyer Samson Lardy 

According to lawyer and Head of Firm at A Partners@Law, Samson Lardy Anyenini., the duty is both constitutional and statutory.

“Any employer at all is under obligation of law to provide tools and ensure that the work environment is generally safe,” he said.

He pointed to the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), particularly sections 118 to 120.“

“Article 24 provides for satisfactory, safe and healthy working conditions,"he.said.

When journalists are injured while working, the legal responsibility does not end with sympathy.

“The employer is vicariously liable for any injuries suffered by the employee in the course of discharging his or her duties.” Anyenini explained.

He cited cases involving journalists such as Afia Pokua and Bridget Otu, who were assaulted while on assignment.

“That is injury in the normal course of work,” he said. “And I am in court fighting for some of these journalists.”

The burden, he stressed, also lies with the state.

“When you attend a demonstration, it is the responsibility of the police to protect you,” he said. “The state security must provide a safe environment.”

George Sarpong pointed again to constitutional guarantees.

“Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees freedom and independence of the media,” he said. “Editors and journalists shall not be harassed for their editorial opinions.”

The Constitution also mandates the National Media Commission to provide redress. The NMC has developed a national coordinated mechanism for journalist safety, but funding constraints have limited its reach.

What emerges is a system heavy on promises and light on protection.

As Anyenini put it, “The media deserves all the protections they can get to do their work and do it well.”

Until safety is treated as essential rather than expendable – by media owners, security agencies and the state – Ghana’s journalists will continue to report from the frontline without armour.

And the true cost of journalism in Ghana will keep being paid quietly, in scars, silence and stories left untold.

Edited by Kent Mensah