
Private legal practitioner Samson Lardy Anyenini has expressed grave concerns regarding the police’s response to the assault on award-winning journalist Erastus Asare Donkor and his team, who were reporting on illegal mining activities, commonly referred to as galamsey.
Mr. Anyenini, who is also the host of JoyNews’ Newsfile, characterized the attack as a near-fatal incident and criticized law enforcement for their leniency towards the perpetrators.
“There appears to be a lie in the narrative. Journalists were almost killed. And let’s be frank about it, they were just lucky—God saved them.
“These armed men marched them into the bush, heckled, and beat them. What these armed men did was kidnapping. If it doesn’t get any more serious than that, what else should?”
In an interview, the lawyer questioned the police’s handling of the attack, particularly their decision to grant police inquiry bail to three suspects who had turned themselves in.
“These are people who were involved in galamsey and they were armed. They assaulted journalists, so I don’t understand why immediately they granted Police inquiry bail to these attackers the way they did,” Samson said on Tuesday.
He voiced his disbelief at the police’s approach, stressing that in a serious case like this, standard legal procedure should have mandated that the suspects be arraigned in court within 48 hours.
“If you [police] say you have filed the case in court and you are waiting for a date, take my word for it, that will be a lie from the pit of hell,” Anyenini said.
He stated that once charges are filed, a court appearance date is automatically assigned, countering the police’s assertion that they are waiting for a date.
He insisted that the proper legal process requires the suspects to appear in court without delay.
Background of the assault
The assault took place on Sunday, October 20, in Asumenya, a community in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region, where the Multimedia Group crew was investigating the environmental damage caused by illegal mining activities.
The team, led by Erastus Asare Donkor, was reporting on the destruction of farmlands and water bodies in the region.
Their coverage highlighted the negative impact of the mining operations conducted by Edelmetallum Mining Resources Limited, a company reportedly linked to Adelaide Tettey as a shareholder, according to the GJA.