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The West Africa Editors Society (WAES) has strongly condemned the alleged assault of a journalist by officers of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at the scene of a fire outbreak at the Kasoa New Market in the Central Region.
In a statement signed by its Interim President, Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, WAES described as disturbing a video circulating on social media which shows a group of fire officers physically attacking a journalist while he was carrying out his professional duties.
The victim, Samuel Addo, a journalist with the Class Media Group, told WAES that the fire broke out on Sunday, January 4, 2026, and that he spent the night covering the incident. According to him, he returned to the scene the following morning to file a follow-up report for the morning show at his radio station.
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Mr Addo recounted that while at the scene, he witnessed some fire officers assaulting a civilian. As he took out his phone to record the incident, about ten fire officers reportedly rushed at him, seized his phone, and assaulted him — despite the fact that he had identified himself as a journalist.
Following the incident, Mr Addo said he lodged a formal complaint with the police and has since been issued a medical report form to seek treatment at a health facility.
WAES said it reached out to the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Desmond Ackah, via WhatsApp for comment but had yet to receive a response at the time of issuing the statement.
However, in a report aired by Starr FM, Mr Ackah was quoted as saying that fire officers did not assault the journalist but only seized his phone because he was recording an altercation at the fire scene without permission.
WAES rejected that justification, stressing that journalists do not require permission to film or record events in public spaces, particularly incidents of public interest.
The editors’ body expressed concern over the recurring attacks on journalists by some officers of the security services, noting that such incidents persist despite ongoing efforts to sensitise security personnel about the role of the media and their responsibility to protect journalists in the line of duty.
“These attacks are a blot on Ghana’s free press environment,” WAES stated, calling on both the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service to thoroughly investigate the incident and ensure accountability.
The organisation warned that attacks on journalists undermine transparency and weaken democratic governance.
“No democratic society should condone attacks on journalists, because doing so stifles journalism, kills transparency and keeps everyone in the dark, and democracy eventually dies in darkness,” the statement said.
Commenting further, Mr Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, who is also the Vice-President of the African Editors Forum (TAEF), urged members of the security services to respect the constitutional role of the media.
“Members of the security services in Ghana ought to know by now that journalism is important for any progressive society, including Ghana, and stop attacking journalists who are only doing their jobs,” he said.
He added that repeated reports of security officers targeting journalists do not reflect positively on the image of the security services and must be brought to an end.
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