AIPC condemns murder of Ghanaian journalist Ahmed
The African Investigative Publishing Collective (AIPC) has condemned the murder of Ghanaian journalist Ahmed Hussein Suale of Tiger Eye media, calling for a thorough investigation to ensure the murderers are punished.
Below is a full text of the statement issued this afternoon:
PRESS STATEMENT ON THE MURDER OF AHMED HUSSEIN SUALE
The murder of Ahmed Hussein Suale of Tiger Eye media in Accra, Ghana, on Wednesday evening has come to the African Investigative Publishing Collective (AIPC) as a shock. It is the more disturbing because the investigative journalism organisation of which Ahmed was a key staff member has contributed immensely to efforts to sanitise governance in Ghana through its work that has exposed corruption, wrongdoing, conflict of interest, waste, maladministration and outright thievery in the West African country.
As a body of investigative journalists in Africa, we strongly condemn the murder. The killing is not just a loss to Tiger Eye and the community of investigative reporters in Africa, but also a loss to the people of Ghana and of the continent.
The AIPC, which consists of 18 journalists from twelve African countries, is at the forefront of coordinated investigative journalism efforts on the continent. It specialises in transnational investigations with a focus on bad governance and corruption. This transnational focus is informed precisely by the pressures, risks and dangers investigative journalists face when they operate alone in their countries, such as recently also experienced by our Mozambican member Estacio Valoi. In this regard the AIPC is a proud flag bearer of the Arizona Project tradition, which tells us to work together to carry an investigation through to the end, even if one of us is threatened, hurt or eliminated. We did this before, producing our major ‘Killing Soccer’ investigation after a soccer reporter was assaulted in Cameroon, and we will still do this now: whether it concerns the exposure of thieving generals in Mozambique or a mafia in Ghana.
As the Arizona Project motto goes: you can kill us but you can’t kill the story. Target one of us again, and we’ll make sure that the investigation the colleague has been working on will be published even wider.
Meanwhile, we call on the Government of Ghana to condemn this assault on democracy and detail crack criminal investigators to ensure the murderers of Ahmed Suale are brought to justice. We stand with Tiger Eye at this dark moment, and pledge our unreserved support.
The work we do is constitutional. No amount of intimidation will prevent us from playing our part to ensure we sanitize our countries of corruption and maladministration.
Theophilus Abbah
Chairman, African Investigative Publishing Collective
