The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has warned that it will deal ruthlessly with any individual or group of persons who attack a journalist going into the December 7 general elections.

In previous elections, some journalists, while discharging their duties in the lead-up to and on election day, have been attacked by political party thugs, leaving the media personnel injured in some instances.

However, speaking on GHOne TV during the launch of EIB Network’s Election Hub [coverage for the 2024 elections], the GJA President said journalists have suffered enough attacks during elections, warning that any attack on a media person will be fiercely resisted.

“If you are a politician or a group of individuals and you don’t have the temperament or the commitment to accommodate journalists during this election period, just stay away from us. Because if you come hostile, we’ll receive you with hostility; if you attack us, we will bite, and so it is not something like boot for boot, but it is something like doing everything to ensure that journalists are allowed to discharge our work."

“We are there for the citizens; we serve as a bridge or the link between the governed and the governor, the government and the citizens they are ruling. If anybody wants to break that link or bridge to cut off that crucial role we play, we will not allow that, and that is why I am there. An attack on the media is an attack on the GJA; an attack on any camera person is an attack on me, the GJA President, and so I will go all out. There’s no way any individual or power can tame or gag us,” he said.