The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for the Yendi Constituency, Farouk Aliu Mahama, has apologised to Citi FM and its reporter for assaulting them during his party’s parliamentary elections on January 27 this year.
“I write to express my sincere regret over the incident at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Primaries in Yendi. The attack on individuals, including your correspondent, was deeply regrettable and unfortunate,” Mahama wrote in a letter today, May 7, four months after the incident happened.
It’s not yet clear what informed the apology, as the MP had denied assaulting the journalist many times and at some point threatened to sue the media outlet and its correspondent Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira for “false reportage.”
According to Citi Fm, the MP had slapped its correspondent while he was covering a scuffle over ballots at the primaries.
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“Mohammed Alabira was caught in the violence, where he was slapped by Farouk Aliu Mahama while he was filing a live report. He said the MP’s boys took a cue from their boss and pounced on him, beating him, and eventually tearing his shirt in the process.”
The incident adds to the many cases of attacks on journalists, which eventually make the work of media personnel a hard endeavour.
Although Ghana improved on recent press freedom rankings by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the country isn’t out of the woods yet.
Read Also: Ghana Improves Press Freedom Rankings in 2024 , but Situation Still Problematic – RSF Index
