On Sunday, July 7, 2024, one of Ghana's best-known and impactful journalists, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Junior, turned 70.

At 70, Kweku Baako has been an active, influential journalist for over four decades. He stands out for his meticulousness and ability to "intercept" sensitive and confidential documents for the public good.

If we needed the very quintessence of a journalist who does not just read documents but peruses, dissects them, and keeps them safe for posterity, Kweku Baako would definitely be the one; the primus inter pares, the Interceptor-General.

Journalists are trained, even enjoined, to be true to the facts and fearless in telling the truth to power and holding public office holders accountable. However, speaking up comes with dire consequences, even under democratic dispensations, let alone under military regimes.

A daring Kweku Baako spoke up as an editor during the Rawlings regime and paid heavily for it. Under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), Kweku Baako Jr. and others were arrested and mercilessly tortured for daring to exercise their freedom of expression.

His fearlessness and unwavering work to protect the freedom and independence of the press have had a long-lasting positive effect on Ghana’s democratization efforts.

"Too many people don't realize that you spent months in jail so that they could enjoy the right to speak freely. Yet, you exude grace even when some of the beneficiaries attack you without cause," said Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Prof. H.K. Prempeh, in celebration of his birthday.

Kweku Baak's father, Kofi Baako was a minister in Kwame Nkrumah's government.