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I Rejected State Protection Under Mahama Because I Felt Safe; But Under Akufo-Addo No Journalist Feels Safe – Manasseh Azure
Renowned Investigative Journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni has admonished President Akufo-Addo and his government for suppressing free speech since he took over the reins of power in 2017.
According to him journalists feel threatened anytime they address wrongdoings under the Akufo-Addo government and are constantly attacked for exposing wrongdoing.
In an article he authored, he wrote: “the environment for free speech became hostile since the Akufo-Addo-led NPP took over the reins of government in 2017”.
According to him, unlike Akufo-Addo, the atmosphere for free speech under former President John Dramani Mahama was “very free and safe for journalists”.
“I rejected state security protection when Dr. Omane Boamah, the Communications Minister under John Mahama, offered me police after the president’s Ford “Gift” Story in 2016. The atmosphere was very free and safe for journalists. I felt safe enough to reject it.
The current dispensation is, however, different. The first time I made an official complaint to the CID Headquarters after receiving death threats was in 2017. You can verify. Apart from my editor at Joy FM and a handful of people, not many heard about it.
Many journalists have gone through worse than what is in the public. The internal pressures that are put on some journalists by their employers who cannot soak the pressure from some top government officials are killing critical journalism. You may do your independent fact-finding if you doubt me.”
