Release investigative report on Ahmed Suale’s murder – GJA President to AG
The president of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has entreated the Attorney General to release the investigative report on Ahmed Hussein-Suale, an undercover journalist killed in 2019.
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, on Tuesday, February 20, disclosed that his office had not received any docket deemed suitable for prosecution regarding the murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale.
READ ALSO: Killers Of Ahmed Suale Will Surely Face Justice – Attorney General
Addressing parliament, the minister underscored that Mr Suale’s case was one among several pending investigations.
He noted that the Ghana Police Service Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was actively handling the matter, but no prosecutable evidence has been forwarded to his office.
While acknowledging ongoing investigations, Godfred Yeboah Dame revealed that initially, four suspects were detained to aid the inquiry.
However, they were released on police inquiry bail due to the lack of eyewitness identification.
Commenting on the development, the GJA president questioned the AG’s reluctance to release the investigative report after stating that the docket was unsuitable for prosecution.
“As we speak today, we still haven’t gotten anywhere with investigations. The Attorney General will come out and tell you that he has still not received any docket fit for prosecution. If you have not received a docket fit for prosecution, why don’t you make the docket you have received known to the public? It means that there’s still a docket. If it’s not fit for prosecution, give us the state of the investigative report on the matter so that at least we can all go to sleep and say that this is what the police have gotten to.”
Mr Dwumfour also criticized the security agencies for their lack of seriousness in dealing with attacks on journalists.
“We are in this country where police officers were shot dead, and in a matter of 24/48 hours, police have arrested [suspects]. Without any lead, they have been arrested and prosecuted, and some are on remand. So, that should tell you the unseriousness of the security agencies or companies that are attached to the attacks on the media. This is very real,” he pointed out.
Background to Suale’s murder
The unresolved brutal murder of the investigative journalist by unidentified assailants remains a troubling issue.
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 Ghana into 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 have yet to be brought to book.
He was an undercover operative with the Tiger Eye PI, a private investigations company owned by award-winning journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
The late Ahmed Hussein-Suale played a key role in Anas’ ‘Number 12’ documentary, which exposed widespread corruption in the Ghana Football Association (GFA).