Ghana was not an exception of these rather harsh realities. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, scores of Ghanaian journalists were either jailed or physically assaulted for publishing materials deemed criminally liable by the ruling government. The issue was so dire that one of the first critical steps of the Kufuor administration, after being elected in the year 2000, was to repeal the Criminal Liable Law[1].
The repeal of the criminal liable law– a law that was once a hindrance to independent journalistic work and practice –was seen as both a victory for democracy and a positive move in the right direction as it allowed journalists the freedom to go about their work without the threat of physical harm or jail time. In the years since the repeal, Ghana’s media landscape has grown exponentially with several private broadcasting houses leading the way. The media has substantially contributed to Ghana’s ever maturing democracy and is, without a doubt, fulfilling its responsibility as the fourth arm of government.
In Ghana today, there are well over 200 privately owned media houses fully engaged in both electronic and print media related activities. The country is seen as a model of democracy for the rest of the African continent, having conducted four successful elections that were deemed, for the most part, free and fair since 1992. It worth noting that the fairness and success of these elections couldn’t have been possible, or even peaceful, but for the enormous role played by the media.
With this growth of the media landscape, is the increased need to ensure professionalism and responsible journalism. There is relatively little development in this area, however. Although the country has one of the most vibrant media landscapes in the whole of Africa, it is sad to say that Ghana has only one recognized public institution of journalism.
This lack of structural development in the area has forced several individuals and private institutions to formulate curricula and graduate journalists with no more than six months training or less. Most of these institutions, it is sad to say, do not even have the accreditation to teach or the right infrastructure to effectively train personnel coming into the profession[2].
The end result is a profession that is riddled with several largely unprofessional and incompetent media personnel with little or no knowledge of basic journalistic practice. The phenomenon is gradually threatening the once sacrosanct profession that held the torch to democratic governance in the era of military rule. The situation is so bad that it is virtually eating away the very democratic fabric that it once sought to represent and unfortunately establishing precedence where several media houses are becoming partisan.
In Ghana today, hardly a day goes by without the media platform being employed to incessantly attack the incumbency by faceless serial callers. Radio stations are the most culprit. It is the domain for constant bickering and heated verbal exchanges between politicians and political activists from the various political divide.
The problem is further compounded by political leaders who trade disparaging words and insults on others who share different opinions, and even incite their supporters. The harsh reality is that there is little or no checks on the poisonous posture that the media seem to be engulfed in. The development is gradually eroding the gains and tireless contributions the media has made towards Ghana’s democratic development and press freedom. The days of “silent politics” has so soon been forgotten.
Instead, the proliferation of media houses in Ghana seem gradually to suggest a curse on democracy rather than deepening and using the press freedom to safeguard its integrity. It is the place where self-seeking politicians seek to advance their senseless political agenda without recourse to the sacrifices of hardworking journalists who spent time in jail and endured physical torture in time past to ensure where the media profession is today.
Incidentally, some of the media personnel who endured Ghana’s era of silent politics and still made the media machinery relevant are still alive and well today. You wonder how they feel about current happenings and if this is what they envisioned for the media profession when they laid down their lives for the profession in times past.
Montie 3: Scapegoats or the triumph of Justice?
Since we have the tendency to add “gate” to almost every politically charged case in Ghana lately, in reminiscent of President Richard Nixon’s infamous Watergate Scandal, let’s caption this section loosely as “Montiegate”.
I have listened to various interpretations since the Supreme Court handed down it judgement on the Montie 3 saga. From calls on President John Mahama to grant amnesty to the three through signing of petitions to protests by many, supposedly, disgruntled supporters of the governing NDC, to candlelight vigils and among others, one thing is clear; the Ghanaian legal system is very much awake and does in fact bite if you threaten or disparage it in any form.
Most of the commentaries I have listened to thus far claim that the three men in the Montie FM case have simply been made scapegoats as the practice is nothing new. One would like to ask why then is the courts baring its teeth’s now? Three examples can quickly be considered in my analysis.
First, the threats by the Montie 3 was by no means directed at an ordinary institution. The three men boldly and bravely threatened the lives of the justices of the “Supreme Court” of the land. It may seem that the threats was towards certain persons of the court and not the court itself. This notion is baloney in that people (justices) make up the courts and the court empowers the justices to act on authority, therefore, the two cannot be distinct.
The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land, the proponents and custodians of the very laws that govern the whole land. In exercising their free speech, these gentlemen went after the very heavyweights in the domain of rule of law. They as a fact of bravery mentioned the names of some of the justices of the Supreme Court bench and threw a challenge at them.
Under no law in Ghana’s constitution does it state that because there is freedom of speech and press freedom is one to make threatening remarks about the most Superior Court of the land, yet alone the very lives of those appointed to such highest office (the Third Arm of Government). The Supreme Court is one of the most sacrosanct offices of the land. In this case, the Supreme Court recognized the consequence such remarks and utterance was likely to have on the sacrosanct image and authority of it. The decision to jail these gentleman is born in part to preserve this sacrosanct image and let sanity prevail in the system.
It simply a reminder that there is free speech and there is also the rule of law. I am yet to come by any audio of anyone using the media platform to challenge the authority of the Supreme Court and threatening the lives of those who served on its bench. In times past, even lawyers have refused to comment on cases pending before the Supreme Court because they recognize the importance and authority of this highly sacrosanct body.
In my young adult life, this is the first time I have seen or heard anyone being summoned before the Supreme Court because that ought to be the final arbiter in cases that the lower or high courts fail to settle. Therefore for the Montie 3 to be summoned before the Supreme Court on the first try reveals the serious nature of the case. Their sentencing, if anything, is a deterrent and not a punishment as many disgruntled supporters would have us believe. The action taken by the supreme will help rid the media landscape of certain unwarranted utterances and behaviors that is inimical to journalistic practice.
Second, Ghana has a dark history and the “Montiegate” instantly triggered the sensitivities and disquiet of the Supreme Court justices. On June 30th, 1982, three High Court Judges, together with an Army Officer were murdered in cold blood. In what was perhaps the low point in Ghana’s justice system, Justices Kwadwo Adjei Agyepong, Poku Sarkodie and Mrs. Cecelia Koranteng-Addow and a retired Major in the Ghana Armed Forces, were abducted and murdered.
The event still lingers in the minds of Ghanaians and for the purposes, busts of these Martyrs of the Law are in fact are the forefront of the Supreme Court till date. The event serves as a perfect reminder of the most painful and shameful period of Ghana’s torrid history. In threatening the lives of the Judges of the Supreme, the Montie 3 in effect opened the cancerous wound all over again. In the aftermath of the Montie 3 judgement, the Supreme Court is, in fact, sending out a stern warning that it has not forgotten the events of the past and that it is ready to deal ruthlessly with any person or persons who threatens its own.
Third, it is important that we learn from history and recognize the powerful force of radio in particular and broadcasting in general. The media is a powerful tool for information dissemination but it can also be used as a propaganda machinery with dire consequences. Examples are not far to come by.
In Rwanda, the acronym RTLM (Radio-Télévision Libre Milles Collines) is never omitted in discussions regarding the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Hutu extremists, in months leading up to the genocide, constantly employed the airwaves of RTLM and referred to their Tutsi neighbors as “cockroaches” and thereby encouraging the Hutu extremists to exterminate the Tutsi population.
In just 100 days, some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in perhaps Africa’s worst genocide on record. Rwanda thankfully has recovered but this dark period in the country’s history will never go away. Most people downplay the effect of radio and television, but the truth is that the airwaves can have disastrous consequences when certain utterances go unchecked. In Rwanda “killers often carried a machete in one hand and a radio in the other. Radio was essentially a tool for mass murder”[3].
The Supreme Court of Ghana in calling to order the Montie 3 has essentially done what political elites in Rwanda failed to do. By not only jailing the Montie 3 but finding culpable the owners of the frequency, a precedence of press freedom with accountability has clearly been established. Owners then become aware that like the panelists, they are equally liable if their platforms are employed to incite violence and threaten the lives of others, especially those in authority. There is proper scrutiny on the part of the owners in ensuring that the right people appear on their media platforms.
Recommendations
In writing this article, I have been extremely cautious in not focusing solely on the negatives. As noted, the media has and continue to play a critical role in Ghana’s democratic growth and rule of law. The country’s media landscape, in spite of “Montiegate”, is equally noted for some high professional standards to the extent that over the years, Ghanaian journalists have and continue to work for some of the world’s top media setups. Therefore, it is only proper that I put forward some recommendations (or suggestions depending on how you see it), on how to effectively deal with instances such as “Montiegate”.
First, recently, there have been suggestions from several civil society groups and think tanks on a possible reorientation of Ghana’s media landscape. Whiles some have called for banning the practice of serial caller’s on phone-in programs, others have suggested delay equipment’s, especially for radio stations engaged in live programs.
While the suggestion for the purchase of delay equipment’s is a laudable one, the very notion of banning serial callers on live phone-in programs is both inimical to press freedom and democratic growth, and impractical to say the least. The delay equipment, when purchased, will help ensure that discussions on radio are decorous and devoid of the gloomy utterances that often characterize these programs.
Montie FM, in this case, would have been able to block the heavily calamitous commentary by the host and panelists before it hits the airwaves. I do not know the cost of these delay equipment’s, but I do know for a fact that the ninety-thousand Cedis paid in fines by the Montie 3 and Montie FM managements, could have easily been used to purchase these equipment’s.
Second, empower the National Media Commission (NMC) to crackdown on the unprofessional standards that bring the whole media landscape into disrepute. The commission is without doubt a shadow of itself and has largely failed to sanction media houses that have clearly waived off its ethical standards.
The NMC ought to be empowered to assume the same independent standing like the Ghana BAR Association, with the ability to punish and revoke media licenses where the operation of a particular media house jeopardizes the peace and security of the whole nation. The NMC in this respect will be able to crackdown on irresponsible and ill professional media houses and personnel.
Like the BAR Association, the NMC should be independent, empowered by a legislative instrument to identify, fine and possibly ban from the airwaves unprofessional and unethical media personnel. By this mechanism, the media will become its own check and balances. This point will mean a commission devoid of any political influence, and one able to act without fear or favor.
Third, while the fight to ensure sanity and safeguard ethical standards in our media landscape is not the call of the Media Commission alone, it is important that media houses do their best to avoid negative and baseless propaganda reportage and programs on their network.
Instead of inviting politicians and party activists on their programs and platforms, professionals and people with expertise knowledge can be engaged to explain issues to their listeners rather than adopting the overly political undertone to almost every program. This will ensure that issues of national interest are given the needed objective expertise analysis.
Truth be told, most Ghanaian’s are apolitical. Some of us just want Ghana to assume the position envisaged by the founders of this nation and this we fully recognize the media’s role. I recognize that this may particularly be difficult to achieve since most of these media outlets are owned and operated by Ghanaian politicians or even political parties.
In resting my pen, it is prudent to say that the adoption of democracy and democratic principles into our political fabric is one of the best things to have happened to this country. It should therefore, be a collective duty, on all persons and at all levels, to safeguard the peace that Ghana currently enjoys. No one is calling for the media to be policed but instead to safeguard its integrity and prevent instances such as the one we currently find ourselves with “Montiegate”.
People, politicians and ordinary citizens alike, ought to learn to agree to disagree and accept the fact that we all don’t share the same political ideology and affiliation. This is what makes politics beautiful and the media ought to be deemed as the platform that preserves our democratic precedence and not where threats are issued.
Written By: Richard Armah.
(Email: richarmah.ra@gmail.com)
[1] Criminal Code (Repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Laws (Amendment Bill), Act 2001.
[2] http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/july-10th/accreditation-board-releases-list-of-53-fake-tertiary-institutions-in-ghana.php
[3] Samantha Power, “Bystanders to Genocide: Why the United States Let the Rwandan Genocide Happen,” The Atlantic Monthly 288, no. 2 (2001), 89.
