Although Ghana ranks highly as a democracy, press freedom in the West African country is deteriorating. In 2022, the country dropped 30 places in Reporters Without Borders’ global Press Freedom Index, and from the third to 10th position in Africa, as journalists have experienced worsening safety conditions in recent years.
“[Ghana] has been characterized by a semblance of official aversion for critical investigative journalism and an escalation of threats against investigative journalists,” said Sulemana Braimah, executive director at the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).
Examples of the threats to Ghanaian journalists include the murder of journalist Ahmed Suale, following his involvement in the production of Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ documentary, “Number 12,” which exposed bribery and corruption activities involving Ghana football officials and referees. In 2020, Manasseh Azure Awuni, an investigative journalist and editor-in-chief of The Fourth Estate, was forced to flee the country after he received death threats due to an article he wrote on the outcome of the Ghanaian elections.
As the Ghanaian government has become increasingly intolerant of criticism, journalists are resorting to self-censorship to protect their jobs and their safety. As a result, critical, investigative journalism that holds power to account is on the decline in Ghana.
Despite these threats, journalists and media organizations in the country are committed to building the next generation of investigative reporters to hold individuals and institutions to account. Two initiatives in particular, the Investigative Journalism Club and Next Generation Investigative Journalism (NGIJ) Fellowship, are leading the charge.
Building a new generation
To preserve critical investigative journalism in Ghana, in March, Manesseh Awuni and MFWA launched the Investigative Journalism Club initiative across several Ghanaian universities, including the University of Cape Coast, the University of Education, Winneba and the African University College of Communications.
The Club initiatives teach students the fundamentals of investigative reporting, including how to perform in-depth research, conduct interviews, spot investigative stories, gain access to public records and adopt the necessary mindset to persevere in the face of media repression.
The idea of training investigative journalists through university clubs originated from a trip Awuni took to the U.S. for the 2014 International Visitor Leadership Program, where he saw how investigative journalism classes at Northwestern University resulted in impactful stories from students. He recognized that similar practical courses were lacking in Ghana, where universities’ curricula often lack a strong emphasis on reporting techniques and skill training.
While the clubs are still in their early stages, many have already hit the ground running. “Currently we are tasked with following current events in the country to determine which issues are worthy of investigation, after which we will share the ideas with our patrons for review and approval,” said Isaac Donkor, a student at the University of Media, Arts and Communication and member of the club.
Later this year, Awuni will organize the first of what he hopes will become annual competitions for the Investigative Journalism Club initiatives, which will give students the chance to be recognized for their stories and win awards. They also will have the opportunity to write and have their work published by The Fourth Estate and other platforms.
"The goal is to engender the spirit of competition and the willingness to undertake investigations every year from each university," said Awuni.
A pool of changemakers
In 2021, MFWA launched the NGIJ Fellowship, in which Ghanaian journalists participate in a five-month comprehensive training, including a mentorship program with Fact-Check Ghana and The Fourth Estate.
NGIJ sees fellows through a competitive recruiting process, which involves writing aptitude tests and interviews, after which selected fellows participate in an intensive, practical boot camp on data journalism, fact-checking, story development, investigative reporting and mobile journalism.
The fellowship, which is organized with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, the U.S. Embassy in Ghana and the Dutch Foreign Ministry also trains fellows on how to use information laws to gather important datasets, which can serve as the basis for groundbreaking journalism.
“As part of their tasks, fellows are required to generate ideas on their own [and] pitch them to their editors who review and give final approval, after which funds are made available by the MFWA to pursue the story,” said Deborah Bempah, the fellowship’s coordinator and a former fellow.
NGIJ fellows have already produced several compelling stories as a result of the fellowship. In 2022, Bempah and fellow Joseph Kpormegbey produced a story on the struggles children in Ghana face, including being deprived of education, healthcare and basic infrastructure. Last year, fellow Edmund Boateng produced a story on the failure of Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo to tackle climate change, while fellow Philip Agbove investigated injustices suffered by Indigenous people of Ada, a town in the Greater Accra Region, whose livelihood is under threat from a rich and powerful company.
“Through workshops, training sessions and mentorship, I have honed my abilities to dig deeper into complex issues and present my findings effectively,” said Agbove, who won the award for most promising young investigative journalist last year.
This year, MFWA has announced applications for the third edition of its NGIJ fellowship, which will take place from September to November. This edition will offer specific training workshops focused on issues of progressive taxation, domestic resource mobilization and illicit financial flows.
Holding power to account
Together, the Investigative Journalism Club and NGIJ fellowship are providing much needed opportunities to those who are willing to take up the challenge of digging deeper into societal issues and exposing injustices to the public.
“[The goal is to] enable fellows [to] receive intensive, practical training, to be able to conduct critical, high-quality, fact-based, in-depth and enterprise reporting towards improving lives and promoting good governance through journalism excellence,” said Bempah.
By increasing the number of investigative journalists who can hold those in power accountable, the aim of these programs is to make it harder for the government and other powerful people to target and silence reporters, said Awuni.
“If we have two or three [journalists coming] from each of these clubs [and] deciding each year to pursue investigations, they will hold more government officials accountable and have more impact,” he said.
Photo by aboodi vesakaran on Unsplash.
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