Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
GOVERNMENT HAS described as misleading and unfortunate, a piece of documentary by investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni and Joy News, claiming that a militia group linked to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) was training at the Osu Castle, the former seat of government.
It would be recalled that on March 7, 2019, Joy News aired the 20-minutes documentary after massive publicity.
It came at a time the Justice Emile Short Commission of Inquiry probing the Ayawaso West Wuogon violent by-election, was having its hearings at the Castle.
But Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah briefing journalists today in Accra said that the documentary was unfortunate, especially as it was coming from a media house that has been held in high esteem over the years and expected to be professional.
He told the media that government has officially written to Joy News registering its disappointment in the documentary.
According to him, “unfortunately, however, the Joy News documentary, the work of Manasseh Azure Awuni, carried a number of significant misrepresentations and misleading impressions.”
He observed that “firstly, the promotion of the documentary, and the narrative of the documentary stated emphatically that a ” militia ” (a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency) had been uncovered training and operating at a “Security zone,” with the complicity of the current administration, and identified them as belonging to the New Patriotic Party.”
The Minister pointed out that “surprisingly, the 20-minute documentary does not show any evidence of such a militia or vigilante group training or operating at a “security zone.”
He noted that “rather, it shows a group of young men and women, dressed up in white shirts and black suits, converging at the Castle, Osu, in the belief that jobs will be found for them.”
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah explained that “from JoyNews’ own documentary, it is clear that the company is involved in helping unemployed young men and women find jobs, and operates a website that openly states their objectives.”
Again, he underscored that “in the documentary, officials of the company claim that they are in the business of helping people find jobs, and encourage the persons who sign up for their services to avoid engaging themselves in acts that breach the laws of our country.”
Though in the advertisement, the producer – Manasseh Awuni suggested the undertaking of a fearsome training exercise by these young and women, and backed it up with photos of masked men wielding assault rifles, he indicated that the documentary itself failed to show any of such training exercises taking place, or the use of the assault rifles by these young men and women.
He said “Government is of the view that this is most unprofessional and very misleading , and we can only urge the producer Mr. Awuni and Joy News to avoid such misrepresentations in the future.”
According to the Minister, “the narrative put on the advertisement, to all intents and purposes, is not supported even by the footage aired.”
He added that “secondly, though the documentary rightly stated that the National Security apparatus has made efforts to close down the office of the company at the Christiansborg Castle, it deliberately failed to highlight the fact that the office had been closed down by National Security since October 2018.”
He “indeed, as has been rightly indicated, there is no militia or vigilante group operating from the Castle.”
“This is an important fact which government believes had to be stated to viewers and listeners, but was deliberately omitted.”
De-Eye group was using the garden of the Castle for its activities because its promoter, one Nana Wireko Addo,had been assigned an office there to work with a taskforce to retrieve landed properties and vehicles in the possession of officials of the erstwhile John Mahama administration, the Minister said.
“After the conclusion of the work of the taskforce in August 2018, he, subsequently, converted the office allocated to him into a private business office for the stated purposes of his company.”
“Admittedly this should not have been allowed to happen in the first place, but was quickly dealt with in October 2018, when he was evicted from the premises by a joint operation involving personnel of National Security and the police.”
Mr. Awuni accordingly shot the documentary in December 2018, about two months after the closure of the office.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said the Castle was not a security zone neither was it an annex of the President’s office.
He also indicated that Wireko Addo was not associated with President Akufo-Addo as Joy News sought to establish.
“Indeed, Nana Wireko Addo left the employ of President Akufo-Addo in 2010, at a time he was not even Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party,” the Minister noted.
BY Melvin Tarlue