Vim Lady vows not to cover 2024 elections over fears of being attacked
Broadcast journalist with the Despite Media Group, Afia Pokua, widely known as Vim Lady, has vowed not to partake in the upcoming 2024 election coverage.
Her decision, she noted in an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile, is solely based on the fear of being attacked by politicians and party members of the two political parties.
“I have been a victim of these attacks twice under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and there is no one to run to, not even the Ghana Journalist Association.”
“In the 2020 election, I had to flee the county for a month and returned later when the coast was clear,” she disclosed, asserting she plans to exit the media landscape due to the attacks journalists face in the line of duty.
“We can no longer continue and I am not the only one. We have had several media people who are exiting the industry and moving into Public Relations, moving into Corporate Communications because it is safer, no attacks emotionally and physically,” she said.
In the same interview, broadcast journalist with GHOne Television, Serwaa Amihere, charged the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to move beyond the issuance of statements and ensure there is a safe environment for media practitioners to operate.
She says beyond holding press conferences and reacting to abuse and threats against journalists, the GJA has failed its members.
She added that the Association has not demonstrated any resolve to provide justice for journalists who have suffered attacks, murder and injuries in their duties.
In the latest Press Freedom Index, Ghana dropped 30 places from – 30th in 2021 to 60th in 2022, the lowest in 17 years since it placed 66th in 2005.
The report comes from the recent news that the Ghanaian government has been clamping down on dissent and claims of a surge in press freedom violations.
The report released to commemorate international Press Freedom Day scored Ghana 67.43, placing Ghana 60th on the index that monitors 180 countries.
Ghana recorded a decline in its indicative points from 78.67 per cent to 67.43 compared to last year.
