... they Maltreat Tamale MCE, Media Personnel, Others

SOME SENIOR Journalists in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, in their desire to exercise their professional duties were seriously maltreated and intimidated by some senior bodyguards of President John Agyekum Kufuor on Saturday April 28, 2007 at the Regional Minister's residence.

The victimized media personnel including eight state and eleven private newspaper journalists, after the embarrassment, had no other choice than to boycott their request for coverage of the President.

The Journalists, who became very angry, tried to educate the bodyguards, who at a point were spitting vicious words on the crowd, how they should behave professionally as bodyguards of the first gentleman of the nation.

But their apparent good intention came to naught as the guards kept on pushing them back into the crowd.

Other government officials including the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, some departmental heads, some NPP Regional executives and other respected personalities also had their share of the embarrassment.

One of the President's bodyguards, Lance Corporal Akwasi Yeboah, who arrogantly defied several pleas by some Police Officers and others, continued to heckle the Tamale MCE and CEPS Regional Commissioner until the MDC rang the Northern Regional Minister to intervene for their entry into the presidential lodge.

The entire media personnel, who could not tolerate the unprofessional behavior, packed their gadgets and boycotted the coverage. It took the Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris to calm tempers down but the Journalists insisted on boycotting the President.

Meanwhile, that was the third time such behaviour has been witnessed as far as President Kufuor's visits to Northern Region are concerned.

Some of the victimized persons questioned the President's bodyguards whether their colleagues in other international communities behaved similarly in their numerous trips with President Kufuor.

Many DCEs, departmental heads, NPP executives and contractors who had come from near and afar to visit the President were all abused and deprived.