President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed worry over the failure of the police to grab the killers of Ahmed Hussein-Suale, three years after the journalist was killed.
According to him, the inability to unravel the cause of death negatively affects Ghana’s press freedom image.
Speaking to the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) when the latter called on him at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, October 26, President Akufo-Addo said: “Unfortunately for us, despite the very widespread effort made by the police and the CID, we still have not been able to lay hands on the perpetrators of Suale’s death.
“It is unfortunate. So, even though he is a journalist, we still don’t know why he was killed, whether because of the work he was doing or other matters.”
However, President Akufo-Addo assured the GJA of the safety of journalists in the country.
“The safety of journalists in Ghana has to be considered as sacrosanct; sacrosanct from members of the community, sacrosanct from agencies of the state, and we must live in a country where journalists have to feel safe to go about their work because the work they do for the country and the community is extremely important.”
In January 2019, Ahmed Suale was shot thrice in the chest and neck and died instantly.
The gruesome murder of the private investigator occurred at Madina in Accra. News of his murder threw the country into a state of debate, panic and uncertainty.
The police mounted a manhunt for the unknown assailants, who were said to have been riding an unregistered motorbike.
Concerns about media freedom and the safety of journalists were raised, accusers arose, and the accused were questioned accordingly by law.
But perpetrators are yet to be brought to book.
The late Ahmed Hussein-Suale played a key role in Anas’ ‘Number 12’ documentary, which exposed widespread corruption in the Ghana Football Association (GFA).