The 16 members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who entered UTV’s property and interfered with its primetime program were found guilty and punished by an Achimota Magistrate Court.
Each party is required to pay GH $2400, according to the court. Charges against the inmates included rioting and conspiracy to conduct crime. They admitted guilt to the accusations.
This comes after their invasion of the UTV studios on October 7, 2023, while United Showbiz was televised live at the time.
They believed that the program had developed into a venue where the government had repeatedly faced unfair criticism in an unprofessional way.
They claimed once more that A Plus, a political activist and regular show panelist, tore apart a letter from the NPP to UTV management urging them to reform the program on live.
Later, they were detained by the police and charged appropriately.
The National Media Commission and the Ghana Journalists Association both denounced the invasion when it occurred.
The act was “barbaric and medieval, and it is very much consistent with the building blocks in recent times to establish a state of impunity against the media, one that is worse than the infamous ‘culture of impunity,'” according to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
their view, the show had become a platform where the government has consistently been unfairly criticised in an unprofessional manner.
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They again alleged that a letter from the NPP to the management of UTV to reform the show was torn apart on-air by A Plus, also a political activist and a regular panellist of the show. The police subsequently arrested and prosecuted them accordingly.
Following the invasion, the National Media Commission and the Ghana Journalists Association condemned the incident.
According to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the act was both “barbaric and medieval, and it is very much consistent with the building blocks in recent times to establish a state of impunity against the media, one that is worse than the infamous ‘culture of silence’.”