Kweku Baako Expresses Resentment Over Arrest of Journalist Accused of Defaming McDan

Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, has expressed bitter resentment over the arrest and two-week remand of journalist Noah Dameh, who was accused of defaming Ghanaian businessman Daniel McKorley, also known as McDan.

Dameh was remanded into police custody by the Magistrate Court in Tema after being detained by the police following a complaint by McKorley, founder of Electrochem Ghana, a salt factory in Ada Songor.

Kweku Baako has deemed the remand of the journalist as absolutely unwarranted and suggests seizing his passport and telling him to report to the police every two days as an alternative.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has also appealed to the Attorney General to intervene in the Journalist’s situation, as they are intrigued by the evolution of the case from a defamation complaint, which should have been a civil matter, to criminal prosecution for alleged false publication.

According to a publication by the MFWA, the complaint was in connection with the journalist’s Facebook post, in which he accused the police of abusing a young man from Ada at the instance of McKorley.

They also express their concern over the police’s lack of interest in pursuing those who allegedly perpetrated the gross human rights violation of chaining a patient to a hospital bed, instead of prosecuting the whistleblower.

The MFWA calls on the Attorney General to ensure that the journalist is not made a scapegoat and that justice is served for all persons involved in the matter.

This case raises questions about the freedom of the press in Ghana, especially in cases where whistleblowers expose alleged wrongdoing by powerful individuals or institutions.