President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Dwumfuor, has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to provide compensation for journalist Latif Iddrisu, who has suffered two separate assaults in the line of duty.
Latif sustained life-threatening head injuries in 2018 after being brutally assaulted by police personnel at the CID headquarters. More recently, he was attacked by supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the premises of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
According to the GJA, the repeated assaults have left Latif undergoing prolonged treatment and therapy in California, USA. Despite occasional attempts to return to frontline reporting, he continues to endure severe pain and trauma.
Mr. Dwumfuor disclosed that after a recent meeting with Latif, during which he received an update on his treatment and the protracted court case, the Association resolved to press for compensation.
“We want to appeal to you to compensate journalists who have suffered injuries in the line of duty. We have Mr. Latif Iddrisu who has been assaulted twice—first by the police, and then by thugs of the NPP,” he emphasised.
The GJA president commended President Mahama for his intervention following the recent EOCO assault, which led to the arrest and prosecution of one of the perpetrators.
He also mentioned other journalists, including JoyNews’ Erastus Asare Donkor and Ohemeng Tawiah, as deserving of compensation for attacks suffered in the course of their work.
Beyond individual cases, Mr. Dwumfuor renewed calls for stronger legislation to protect journalists, stressing that existing laws are too weak to deter attacks on the media.
In response, President John Mahama congratulated the newly elected GJA executives and reflected on his own early days as a young journalist at the GBC newsroom. He reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring media independence and safety, pledging to revive the Media Development Fund and collaborate with the press to restore Ghana’s image as a model of press freedom.
President Mahama also expressed concern about Ghana’s decline in the World Press Freedom Index and stressed the importance of reversing the trend through concrete interventions.
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