AFRICANEWS
GhanaWhen A journalist makes a mistake...Mediaby Santuah Niagia
When a judge makes a mistake, it becomes law. When a carpenter makes a mistake, he adds it to your bill. But, when a journalist makes a mistake, trouble starts. In Ghana a fierce war of words has ensued after an Accra high Court imposed a crushing fine on one of the country's most popular private newspapers for libel. The criticism poured in mostly from media-related organisations, the civil society and diplomatic circles. What provoked the matter was a 42 million cedis fine that was imposed on Nana Kofi Coomson, publisher and former managing editor of the Ghanaian Chronicle for what was said to be libelling Edward Salia in 1997, then the Minister of Roads and Transport. The paper had implicated Salia in an improper business deal in a story based on a report by the country's Serious Fraud Office. Salia denied any wrongdoing and sued the paper and two years later he seems to have won. "I have waited for two years to arrive at this moment to have my good name and hard work won reputation cleared by the court," he said after the verdict. He then pledged to donate the fine to charity after claiming it was too small to erase the damage the paper has done to him. But while admitting that paper is fallible, the publisher was adamant that 'we have never knowingly published an untruth, never knowingly.' The publisher was also clear on the intentions of the fine. "It(Chronicle) has gained considerable notoriety and earned hatred within the corridors of power for making stunning revelations of corruption among government officials," he said. Salia's 'victory,' however has succeeded only in eliciting criticism from media related organisations and members of the diplomatic community in Ghana. This is due to the fact that fine is the highest fine ever imposed on any newspaper in the history of the press in the country. It is also a figure that according to Nii Laryea-Sowah, General Secretary of the Private Newspaper publishers Association for Ghana (PRINPAG) is almost half the 100 million cedis in fines that have been imposed on the media in the country in the last eight months. In a protest petition Sowah said: "Much as members of PRINPAG detest blackmail and character assassination we maintain that monumental fines are not the right corrective measure to bring sanity to the publishing industry." He observed that newspapers contribute to increasing literacy as well as strengthening the pillars of democracy and no attempt should be made to stifle their existence. If the newspaper dies, he warned the judiciary itself is also not safe. Mrs Gifty Afenyi Dadzie, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) decried the fine as too severe and urged democratic institutions such as the judiciary to 'dispense justice to all parties in the manner that will not undermine and destroy fundamental structures of good governance whilst fulfilling their obligations to uphold the rights of individuals.' Kwame Karikari, the Director of the School of Communication Studies at the University of Ghana, the country's highest journalism training school and spokesman for the Friends of Free Expression (FOFE) criticised the judiciary as discharging its duties in a way that suggests that it has become an obstacle to instead of a promoter of free expression and press freedom. Ms Cathryn Dee Robinson, the US ambassador to Ghana was blunt on the libel law under which the Chronicle has been found guilty. "I do not think the US Embassy and Government have been shy in criticising the use of criminal libel laws ... to cripple the private press which the government has not been happy to hear of," she said. She stated that the press needs to be free from all pressures in performing its duty to holding public officers accountable for their deeds but was quick to add that such a privilege calls for a great sense of responsibility from the press. For a country that reverted to civilian rule in 1992 after more than a decade of military regimes, the fine is also a slap on the face of the democratic camp that has been calling for constitutional reforms. This camp feels that the fine would deal a terrible blow to the media institution that is still essentially in its fledgling stages. But on the other side are those who are uncomfortable with the present media in the country especially by its virulent criticism of government officials. They argue that something has to be done to restrain it and claim that a huge fine is the best starting point. These pro-government lobbyists seem to have got a boost from the country's Attorney General and Minister of Justice Obed Yao Asamoah who recently told parliament that the government has no intention of repealing the Criminal Libel Laws because "no journalist has the right. to libel any person and go scot-free." He said the law would remain in the statute books to ensure that journalists discharge their duties responsibly. Though the paper has lodged an appeal against the fine, the lesson inherent in the ruling cannot be missed. This is considering the fact that the fine comes as the same paper and another bi-weekly, The Free Press, are standing trial for seditious libel for "publishing information likely to injure the reputation of the government" . This was after they both ran a story that implicated the regime in drug trafficking and arms dealing. The story was allegedly culled from a foreign newspaper.
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