Captain Smart Released On Bail After Arrest
Onua FM’s Morning show host, Godsbrain Captain Smart, known as Captain Smart, has been released on bail after his arrest on Wednesday.
The outspoken journalist was reportedly arrested by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) on October 19 on his way home from work.
It is not yet known what prompted his arrest but many Ghanaians have attributed it to his allegation about the President’s involvement in illegal mining in the country.
His arrest was widely condemned as a threat to media freedom and sparked calls for his immediate release on social media under the hashtag #ReleaseCaptainSmartNow.
“If Captain Smart’s arrest is because of his galamsey comment about the president, then it’s wrong. Defamation isn’t a criminal offence”, Investigative journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure tweeted.
In a Facebook post, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, an education think tank, said “De papa is very much on course to retire with an unbeatable media freedom record in the 4th republic. Congrats.”
While hosting the morning show on Onua TV on Monday, Godsbrain Smart, popularly known as Captain Smart alleged that the president was “actively involved” in galamsey and described his supposed fight against it as “mere rhetorics”.
“Nana Addo is actively involved in galamsey so he can never ever stop galamsey. Your president, my president, our president is actively involved in galamsey so he can never ever stop galamsey. All these things are nothing but mere rhetorics and I will prove that to you”, he said decrying the President’s inability to call to order the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako over his alleged involvement in the act.
According to him, the fact that the president had the guts to take along Chairman Wontumi during his courtesy call at the Manhyia Palace on Sunday is enough proof that he is also a culprit.
“If Nana Addo is not actively involved, why was Wontumi following him?… The president is actively involved in galamsey because he is right in the pocket of the Ghanaian galamsey kingpin, Chairman Wontumi”, he said.
The Ministry of Information in a press statement rubbished this as “unethical and irresponsible” journalism on the part of Captain Smart.
“The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has never been or is not involved in galamsey. The content propagated in the video is false, malicious and without basis. It is nothing but an act of unethical and irresponsible journalism.
“The video is intended to court disaffection for government and undermine efforts to fight illegal mining in the country. The government’s commitment to fight illegal mining is unwavering”, she said in the press release.
The government also said it was looking at its options to seek redress over the publication against Captain Smart, Onua TV and Media General.
President Akufo-Addo’s administration has seen a drop in press freedom in Ghana.
The 2022 global press freedom rankings by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) saw Ghana drop from the 30th position it held in 2021 to the 60th position at a score of 67.43%.
The government has created a record for itself by arresting a number of journalists for their publications while dozens of abuses against them have gone unpunished.
This is not the first time Captain Smart has been arrested for a statement he’s made.
In December, he was arrested for what the police said were “unsavoury pronouncements that hinge on peace and security” and was later kept by the security despite being granted bail.
In February 2022, Accra FM’s Bobie Ansah was arrested for alleging that the First and Second Ladies of Ghana have fraudulently secured state lands in their names.
Still, in February, Power FM’s Oheneba Boamah Bennie, was jailed for two weeks and fined 3,000 cedis for contempt of court, in a case in which he allegedly made false claims against President Akufo-Addo and the justices of the Supreme Court in relation to the 2020 election petition, CNR reports.
Connect FM’s Eric Nana Gyetuah was also physically abused and arrested by some police officers this year for filming them in the Western Region Region.
Reacting to arrests of journalists for their statements under this government in February, former President John Dramani Mahama said he feared media freedom won’t be part the legacy President Akufo-Addo will leave behind.
“I fear that if you do not take immediate action to arrest this unfortunate trend, when you exit the high office of President in January 2025, freedom of speech and a free media will certainly not be counted as part of the legacy you leave behind.”
Following his release last night, Captain Smart sent out a warning to the ones behind the arrest and insisted that the “Presidency” is involved in illegal mining in the country.
“No one can intimidate us with state security apparatus”, he said while driving through the night in a video circulating on social media.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
