The National Media Commission (NMC) has ruled on three cases brought before it, after its Settlement Committee had met with and heard all the parties in those cases.
The cases involved Kessben FM and the Member of Parliament for Atwima Kwanwoma, Dr Kojo Appiah–Kubi, the Vice-President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, Peacefmonline and Abeiku Santana of Okay FM, and the Ghana Girl Guides Association, its Chief Commissioner and the Vanguard Newspaper.
Veep’s case
In the case involving the Vice-President Amissah-Arthur, Peacefmonline and Abeiku Santana of Okay FM, the Vice-President complained of a false story posted on Peacefmonline on April 1, 2015, captioned: “Caught in the act!!! Vice-President Amissah Arthur spotted kissing lover in a New York apartment,” and an assertion made by Abeiku Santana on Okay FM on the same day that the “Vice-President has died.”
In their response to both complaints, the management of Peacefmonline.com and Okay FM stated that the publication and assertion which were carried on April Fool’s Day were meant as satirical pieces with no malice intended.
The two have nonetheless agreed to apologise to the Vice-President.
Atwima Kwanwoma MP
In the case involving the MP for Atwima Kwanwoma, Dr Kojo Appiah-Kubi, he claimed that Kessben FM carried a story which stated that he had recruited a party member to collect money for him from a toilet that he had built for the people of Krofom in the Atwima Kwanwoma District.
Kessben FM admitted that they had not treated the MP fairly and that there were lapses in the said story. The management of the radio station had earlier sent a letter of apology to the commission and agreed to retract the story and apologise on air to the MP.
Girl Guides
In the third case, the Ghana Girl Guides Association and its Chief Commissioner complained of a story and a picture published by the Vanguard Newspaper on April 28, 2015, with the title: “Visa scam hits Girl Guides Association,” which they said had libelled them with false and malicious statements.
After finding that the story had no substance and was not backed by any admissible proof, the committee directed the Vanguard’s editor, Mr Osbert Lartey, to publish a correction and apology with prominence in three consecutive issues of the paper from its next issue.
<<Print>>