Executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have called for investigations into the assault of TV3 reporters by soldiers.
A Deputy Communications Director of the NPP, Kamal-Deen Abdulai and a member of NDC’s Communications Team of the NDC, Fred Agbenyo, are of the view that no one can take the laws into their hands and assault people without being punished.
Soldiers attacked TV3‘s cameraman, Stanley Nii Blewu, and reporter Joseph Armstrong, assaulting the former in the process, when they were out on assignment at Tema Station in Accra Central to do a story on the state of sanitation.
The soldier reportedly asked a police officer to arrest the TV3 crew for taking shots of a clean-up exercise on Wednesday.
Speaking on TV3‘s New Day Friday, August 14 Kamal-Deen said, “we should not just narrow this country to only electioneering era where we think that sanity must prevail. Sanity is supposed to prevail at all times and harmony is supposed to prevail at all times.
“My point here is that whether it is elections era not no one has the right to take the law into your own hands and try to abuse somebody or treat someone arbitrarily.
“That is not the proper way. Investigations must go into this matter. If culpability is established, punishment must follow suit to serve as a deterrent to those who will think that you can take the law into your own hands and do whatever you want to do,”.
A member of the communications team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fred Agbenyo, for his part, called for the arrest of the soldiers.
Mr Agbenyo described the incident as unfortunate and abuse of the law, hence, must be investigated immediately.
“What crime has the journalists committed filming refuse or anything anywhere in this country? Assuming even if the journalists has said anything or even insulted a soldier, does he have any right to take the law into his own hands and beat him up and go free?”, Mr. Agbenyo quizzed.
“It is not right. The military hierarchy will need to come out immediately and distance themselves from this man, get him arrested and allow him to go through the due process of the law.
“That is the only way it serve as a deterrent to others. We are going into a very crucial elections and once we allow this thing to continue it becomes a foundation for others to think that they can do things with impunity and go without any punishment.
“… I think that they must take this issue very seriously because the journalists will be moving out there. As the journalists will be moving out there as the elections is coming , you will be visiting communities, and maybe will be filming all manner of things. And so I want to see the military hierarchy and all the powers that be getting involved and making sure that this gentleman punished accordingly,” he said.
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana