GJA Records Over 50 Attacks and Threats Against Journalists Since 2022

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has recorded more than 50 incidents involving attacks, assaults, arrests, threats, and harassment of journalists between 2022 and January 2026, with five attacks recorded in January 2026 alone, three of which allegedly involved state security personnel.

GJA President Albert Dwumfour disclosed the figures at the 30th GJA Media Awards in Accra on Saturday, November 7, 2026, raising concerns about the safety of journalists despite progress in Ghana's press freedom ranking .

“While celebrating progress, we cannot ignore the attacks and threats confronting journalists,” Mr Dwumfour said. “Journalists are not enemies of the state” .

He stressed that journalist safety remained a key concern requiring sustained attention from government, security agencies and other stakeholders .

A Persistent Pattern

The GJA's tally paints a picture of sustained vulnerability for media practitioners over a four-year period. The incidents span physical assaults, unlawful arrests, intimidation and verbal threats, with the January 2026 spike particularly alarming: five attacks in a single month, three of them allegedly involving state security personnel.

The Association has consistently called for measures to protect journalists and ensure accountability for those responsible for attacks against them. But the figures suggest that such calls have yet to translate into a meaningful reduction in incidents.

Press Freedom Gains, Safety Gaps

Ghana has long been regarded as one of Africa's most press-friendly nations, and the GJA President acknowledged improvements in the country's ranking. Yet he argued that the gains cannot be consolidated without addressing the conditions under which journalists work.

“Our responsibility is to consolidate the gains and address persistent challenges including journalist safety,” Mr Dwumfour said.

He also pointed to economic insecurity, media independence and professional development as interconnected challenges facing the sector—themes that echoed his separate announcement at the awards that the Speaker of Parliament had backed a private member's bill on journalists' conditions of service .

A Contentious Record

The GJA's figures, however, have not gone unchallenged. In October 2025, the Ministry of Information, then under the Mahama administration, disputed the Association's claim that 31 journalists had been assaulted during the December 2024 elections, with the GJA accusing the Ministry of having failed to thoroughly engage the Association before issuing its disclaimer.

The latest disclosure at the awards ceremony suggests the Association is determined to keep the issue on the public agenda, even as it celebrates excellence in the profession.

The Broader Context

The awards, held under the theme “Celebrating Excellence, Advancing Media Freedom and Combating Hate Speech in the Digital Age,” brought together journalists, media organisations and stakeholders to recognise achievements in the industry .

The presence of state officials at the ceremony—including Minister of State for Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu, who spoke on behalf of the President—set up a contrast between the GJA's safety concerns and the government's insistence that threats against public officials must be treated as criminality, not free speech .

Mr Kwakye Ofosu's remarks, delivered at the same event, sought to draw a distinction between criminal threats and legitimate expression, while acknowledging that journalists in the north had in the past fled the country for fear of their lives .

For the GJA, the challenge remains translating official assurances into concrete protection. The Association's figures suggest that, so far, the gap between rhetoric and reality remains wide.