The Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Mensah Thompson, has strongly criticized Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, the Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), for his opposition to the directive issued by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to blacklist Members of Parliament accused of assaulting journalists.
GJA’s directive specifically targeted 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 divergent stance, labelling the directive as “dysfunctional and unproductive” to the public interest. He advocates for the use 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.
Mensah Thompson characterized Ayeboafo as a failed journalist who has failed 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.”
