The cameraman of Accra-based GHOne TV, who was beaten and left unconscious by some youth of Asawase a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana, has been discharged from hospital after two days of admission.
Reynold Dadzie was filming a violent demonstration by the youth of the Kumasi suburb on July 19, 2018 when he was pounced upon and brutalised by a section of the mob. The victim was left with a swollen left eye and a damaged camera.
Caesar Anadem, Regional Manager of EIB Network, operators of GhOne TV, confirmed to MFWA that Dadzie was rushed unconscious to a nearby clinic for first aid before being referred to another hospital where he was admitted for two days. Anadem added that though his colleague is out of immediate danger, he is not fully recovered.
“His left eye is still visibly swollen; he breathes with difficulty and coughs severely, Anadem said.
The regional manager revealed that the camera Dadzie was using was destroyed beyond repairs, adding that the mob targeted the camera because they wanted to prevent the airing of their acts of violence which they suspected to have been filmed.
The demonstrators were protesting against the fatal shooting by the police of seven young men from Asawase, a Zongo community (settler community of people of predominantly northern extraction) suspected to be armed robbers.
Meanwhile, the Council of Zongo Chiefs, on July 23, issued a statement apologising to the assaulted journalist, all Ghanaian journalists and media houses who might have been affected by the violence.
The MFWA condemns the attack on the cameraman and the destruction of his equipment. We reiterate our call on the police to investigate the assault and bring the perpetrators to book.