A journalist with Accra-based Starr FM, Mr Edward Adeti, has said he has been receiving death threats following his exposé of a bribery incident involving a minister of state at the presidency, Mr Rockson Bukari, who had attempted to compromise him to drop a bad story concerning a judge and Chinese mining firm Shaanxi in the Upper East Region.
With the knowledge of the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale still fresh in the minds of Ghanaians following the role he played in the exposé that uncovered rot in Ghanaian and African football which led to the resignation of the president of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Kwasi Nyantakyi, there are fears that Mr Adeti’s life could be in danger.
Speaking to Benjamin Akakpo on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM on Tuesday, 30 April 2019, Mr Adeti said although he has received multiple death threats, he is not afraid for his life.
He said: “I have received threats since last year on text and even on social media. The latest was yesterday [Monday, 29 April 2019], one Mubariq Muntari said: ‘Edward Adeti will regret this.’ So, as for the fears I have them as a human being but for me I think I’ll rather die than allow injustice to prevail because at the end of the day, all of us will die but we may not know how we will die.”
“I’m more afraid for my family, but yes the death threats are there,” he added.
Mr Bukari had earlier denied attempting to bribe the journalist a day earlier before his resignation.
A statement signed by the Director of Communication at the presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin said the president accepted the former Upper East Regional Minister’s resignation after he submitted it on Monday because he had “taken note of the tape circulating in the media” and had, therefore, taken the decision to resign “in order not to allow the tape to disrupt the focus of government in delivering its mandate”.
Mr Bukari stated in his letter that he resigned “as a matter of principle” having “exercised judgment contrary to what I have known you to stand for and require of your servants in running this country”.