A journalist, Senyalah Castro has detailed how he was nearly beaten in 2020 by the then Member of Parliament for Lawra Constituency, Anthony Abayifaa Karbo.
In a post on social Facebook chronicling the incident, Castro, who is the Upper East Regional Correspondent for Accra-based Asaase Radio, said he was part of a press corps covering a tour of some areas in the region by a government delegation led by Vice-President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The visit by the delegation was to assess the extent of damage caused by a rainstorm and to donate relief items to affected residents.
At Anateem, one of the affected areas, a brief ceremony was held during which dignitaries including the Vice-President took turns to empathize with residents and assured them of government’s support, he recollected.
When the then Upper East Regional Minister, Tangoba Abayage took her turn at the event to speak, Castro, eager to capture every moment, brought out his sound recorder and was scouting for where to position himself to take the most captivating shots.
But just after he positioned himself and was about to bring out his camera for action, he recalled, a heavy hand shoved him from the back. And when he turned, it was Mr. Karbo yelling at him and demanding that he moved away from where he was.
“He said I was standing at the wrong place. I was confused because I was nowhere near Tangoba. I had even fitted my long lense to the camera, which means I was quite away from Tangoba to breach any security protocols. Moreover, I have covered so many of such government events to know to keep a good distance from high profile government figures”.
The former Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Castro stated, shut him up and threatened to physically attack him when he attempted an explanation that he was not closer to the minister in breach of security protocols as he (Mr. Karbo) had accused him of.
The ensuing confrontation drew the attention of one of the Vice-President’s security guards who got close and reminded Mr. Karbo that the journalist was only performing his constitutionally mandated duty, he added.
But Mr. Karbo, Castro recalled, retorted “he is a journalist and so what”.
The journalist, who said the incident left him broken, added that the security guard had had to whisked him away in order to protect him against the former MP, who was ready to pounce on him and design his face with punches.
“He threatened to beat me if I don’t move. It took the intervention of a lieutenant with the Vice President’s military team, who had been keenly watching, to remind Karbo I was doing my job. Karbo didn’t even mind the soldier saying I was a journalist and so what. The soldier had to take me away with him to prevent me getting beaten by Karbo. I was left broken that day,” he narrated.
