GLoMeF Condemns GRNMA Secretary’s Threat to Journalists — Demands Government Sanctions Now

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GLoMeF Condemns GRNMA Secretary’s Threat to Journalists — Demands Government Sanctions Now

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Global Media Foundation (GLoMeF) is outraged by a reckless and shameful threat reportedly made by the Secretary of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) against journalists seeking treatment at Ridge Hospital.

In a hard-hitting statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Raphael Godlove Ahenu, GLoMeF described the threat as “a dangerous abuse of power and an attack on the dignity of every Ghanaian who walks into a hospital for care.”

“This is not just unprofessional—it is unlawful. Any health official who threatens patients, whether journalists or ordinary citizens, must face the full weight of Ghana’s laws,” Mr. Ahenu declared. “We demand that government, the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council act immediately to discipline this official before such arrogance poisons the entire health sector.”

The condemnation follows public comments made by GRNMA General Secretary, Dr. David Tenkorang-Twum, during an interview on Accra-based Neat FM in June 2025.

Dr. Tenkorang-Twum's outburst was triggered by strong media criticism of an indefinite nationwide strike declared by the GRNMA. The strike, which was in protest of government delays in implementing parts of the 2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement — including allowances for uniforms, rural postings, and professional license renewals — attracted widespread public attention. Many journalists openly criticized the strike and its impact on health service delivery, which Dr. Tenkorang-Twum viewed as unfair, leading to his controversial remarks.

Saying, “Those journalists, we have marked them. They will come and meet us in the hospital; I am serious about this. I said they will come and meet us in the hospital and we will show them that we are professionals.

They are in their offices saying all sorts of things they want, but when they come to us, we will prove to them in our consulting rooms that we are professionals. The nonsense they do on the radio, we won’t do the same, we will show them professionalism.”

GLoMeF noted that this threat is part of a disturbing pattern of misconduct by some health professionals:

“Nurses and doctors increasingly insult patients, abuse them, and trample on the Patients’ Charter with impunity,” Mr. Ahenu said. “They behave as though patients owe them a favour, forgetting that their salaries are paid with taxpayers’ money. Enough is enough.”

In response to the GRNMA Secretary’s comments, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, issued a five day ultimatum for Dr. David Tenkorang-Twum to retract and renders an unqualified apology for his reckless statement.

Failure to do so, the GJA, he indicated, will take further action, including reporting him to regulatory bodies at the national and international levels to protect lives of journalists, press freedom and Ghana’s democracy.

The Global Media Foundation is thus calling for:

• Immediate suspension or sanctions against the GRNMA Secretary who made the threat.

• Government intervention to protect journalists and all patients from intimidation in health facilities.

• Strict enforcement of the Patients’ Charter with real penalties for violators.

“If this lawless behaviour is not stopped, public trust in our health system will collapse,” Mr. Ahenu warned. “The Patients’ Charter is not a suggestion—it is a binding code of conduct, and no one is above it.”

GLoMeF is also urging civil society, human rights advocates, and the media to rise up against this growing abuse of patients’ rights.

“We will not remain silent while health facilities become unsafe for the very people they exist to serve,” the statement concluded.

By Communications Unit, GLOMEF