The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has declared a media blackout on the Minister for Fisheries and Member of Parliament for the Awutu Senya East Constituency, Mavis Hawa Koomson, following an assault on David Kobbina, a journalist from Cape FM in the Central Region, by thugs believed to be associated with her.

The unfortunate attack on the journalist occurred on January 4, 2024, sparking widespread condemnation. The attackers accused the victim of insulting Hawa Koomson on a TV Show, a claim the victim denied, clarifying he worked as a morning show host of a radio station. He even produced his ID card to back his case, but the assailants went ahead and pounced on him in the presence of a police officer who was the first to have accosted the victim.

After the incident, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association, called on the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to which Hawa Koomson belongs, to promptly initiate an investigation and impose sanctions on those responsible for attacking the journalist. Furthermore, he appealed to the Ghana Police Service to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. He emphasized the need for the police officer who summoned Kobbina before the assault to face disciplinary action for unprofessional conduct, adding that preliminary investigations conducted by the GJA have substantiated the incident.

However, at a press conference addressed by the leadership of the GJA in partnership with international stakeholders and attended by senior journalists on Thursday, January 25, GJA president Albert Kwabena Dwumfour declared a total media blackout on Hawa Koomson.

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