Kennedy Agyapong, New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, has condemned the recent attack on UTV studios by a group of NPP-affiliated individuals.
According to Kennedy Agyapong, such actions tarnish the party's reputation and threaten media freedom in the country.
"When you want to terminate someone's employment, pastors come to plead, chiefs intervene, and politicians issue threats, as seen when NPP members attacked UTV. I mean, what is this? You can't do that in any country.
"It's unacceptable to forcibly enter a private TV and radio station simply because they don't speak for you. These actions need to change; NPP members are tarnishing our reputation,” he said.
The NPP flagbearer hopeful also referenced President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's promises to enhance media freedom in Ghana before taking office.
Agyapong questioned why the recent incident at UTV Studios and similar occurrences had transpired if the president had pledged to support a vibrant and unrestricted media landscape.
“When the president was aspiring, he pledged to liberate journalism, media. And all those things. So, what happened? That they want every TV station and the media to talk about a particular person and those that fail then attack them, so today you people and NDC who are more violent?” he added.
Ken was speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Skyy Power Radio in the Western Region, where he held a Showdown March as part of his flagbearership campaign.
Background
A group of NPP members stormed the studios of UTV during the broadcast of United Showbiz on Saturday, October 7, 2023, demanding for regular pundit of the show, Kwame Asare Obeng alias A Plus.
The group, said to be unhappy with A Plus shredding a letter by the leadership of the NPP to the management of UTV calling for a reform of United Showbiz, are said to have assaulted some staff of the media company before making their way into the studios.
The police later announced the arrest of 16 individuals in connection with the attack.
The incident has since received widespread condemnation from political activists and various critics who have described it as a direct attack on media freedom and the freedom of speech.
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