The Media Coalition for Reforms wishes to express its indignation at the attempts by Kabral Blay-Amihere, former President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to hijack the association for his own parochial political agenda. Consequently, we call on all well-meaning members of the GJA to stop Kabral’s coup attempt, which is scheduled for Wednesday, June 16 2021 at the Ghana International Press Centre (GIPC) at 2pm.
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The Coalition has been monitoring recent developments within the GJA, particularly with respect to the delayed election of national and regional executive officers for the association. We were not surprised with the court action against the illegality of the Affail Monney executive committee, whose tenure had long elapsed as far back as November last year. Yet they continued to hold themselves out as executives of the GJA, and to conduct elections.
The court action by Caroline Boateng of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, sought to declare Affail Monney’s team of executives illegal, and with it the processes towards the delayed elections. That was where Kabral, who has been appointed by the President, to chair the Board of GRIDCO, appears to have found an avenue for his agenda. He immediately started maneuvers towards setting up an Interim Management Committee (IMC) with him as the chairperson.
Fortunately, the court last week ordered the feuding parties to use the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes to come to an amicable settlement of the impasse and report back to the court. Our understanding is that per the court’s directives, the resolution of the issue is in the hands of the feuding parties and their lawyers: not Kabral! The process towards a resolution has started and a formal meeting between the lawyers of the plaintiff and the defendants has been scheduled for Thursday, June 17 2021.
That notwithstanding, Kabral, who was previously appointed as the Ambassador to Cote D’Ivoire, has scheduled a meeting a day earlier – Wednesday, June 16 2021 – the purpose of which is to set up an IMC, with him as the leader. He has recruited the following members of the GJA into his scheme: Ransford Tetteh, Ajoa Yeboah Afari, Gordon Avenorgbor, Affail Monney, Peter Agbeko, Kwasi Kpodo, Lawyer Osei Kwadwo and Bright Blewu among others. His attempt to rope in Mrs. Gifty Affenyi Dadzie, we have uncovered, failed, as she was not interested in joining the coup plot.
The Coalition can confirm that the afore mentioned journalists are aware of the “coup plot” by Kabral. Most important of all, they are aware that his main agenda is to disqualify a particular presidential aspirant from contesting in the hope that his preferred candidate will win. What we are not sure of is whether they will agree to the stance taken by Kabral, and whether they will support his coup plot. Our intelligence tells us that Kabral is in for a shocker: that those he has enlisted do not see eye-to-eye with him. But we will not be complacent. That coup must be stopped by whatever means. It must not be left to those he is meeting with alone to reject his plans. We must all get involved. It is ominous for the future of the GJA.
We are aware of the resistance of some members of the GJA Electoral Committee to Kabral’s demand to disqualify the said candidate. Consequently, he has informed close allies that once he captures the leadership of the IMC, he will dissolve the Electoral Committee for resisting him and set up his own, which will include members of the old committee who are willing to do his bidding.
We are concerned about Kabral’s unseen hands behind every decision of the GJA over the years. Even when it comes to deciding on who is the journalist of the year, Kabral must decide! His machinations are well known by members who are close to the association, but who have tolerated him for this long. He sees his grip fading away if a particular candidate wins, hence the brazen attempt to subvert the constitution of the GJA. He wants to lead a junta to be clothed as an IMC and use that to disqualify potential GJA presidents who he knows will not succumb to his wishes, and also exercise authority over the GJA over an extended period.
The majority of the GJA members that the Coalition has encountered in recent times seem to want a change from the old order, which remains under the thump of Kabral, to a new order of dynamism, rejuvenation and essence for the association. These are what should triumph; not a coup from a self-acclaimed democrat, particularly when coup d’états in this day and age are clearly anachronistic.
Most journalists were shocked to notice that during his tenure as the Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), every single person appointed to head a media institution was an old student of his former school. This was a source of worry to many observers, but still, the fraternity accommodated him. His nepotistic tendencies have never been in doubt.
We the members of the Coalition for Media Reforms are persuaded that enough is enough! The court’s directives must be given a chance. The feuding parties and their legal team must be allowed to resolve their differences for the elections to proceed. We hold strongly that the concept of an IMC is alien to the GJA constitution, and we must not allow Kabral to impose that on the association. We must not allow him and his political pay masters to select for journalists who our leaders should be.
We are still investigating suggestions that Kabral was behind the court case in the first place, hoping to ride on that to capture the GJA. Indeed, we know that he has been outraged at the directive of the court that the feuding parties should resort to ADR. His preference had been for a long-drawn-out battle and use that to support his planned capture of the association in support of his political conduct.
We request all fair-minded journalists, all GJA members who have the interest of their professional association at heart to storm the Ghana International Press Centre on Wednesday, June 16 2021 at 2pm, and prevent the said coup from materializing. We ask all those Kabral has enlisted for this devilish agenda to be guided by good conscience and advise him to back out from his intended coup plot.
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We call on the lawyers and the clients in this feud to insist on resolving this court issue their way, and not Kabral’s way. We also demand of the outgoing GJA executives to insist on the right thing being done in circumstance –and that is ADR, not an IMC. We cannot substitute an Illegal Affail Money Executive team with an equally illegal Kabral-led IMC. The court must insist on its directives, which is ADR and not allow Kabral to hoodwink it using what appears to be an innocuous IMC, which in fact is laden with tones of personal political agenda.
The Coalition for Media Reforms wishes serve notice that should the media fraternity and the GJA fail to restrain Kabral and avert the intended coup, it will use whatever means at its disposal – including brute force and return to the court of law – to prevent the ill-intended and political agenda that Kabral’s intended coup plot represents.
Convener
Samuel Ablordepey
0244797132