A sports journalist in Ghana was attacked and beaten by a group of “thugs” connected to one of the players on Ghana’s Black Stars soccer team last Friday all because the journalist asked what players deemed an inappropriate question.
Daniel Kenu, writer and Ashanti Regional Editor for Graphic Communications Group Limited, was twice attacked by a group led by Baffour Gyan, the brother of Black Stars player and team captain Asamoah Gyan, after Kenu asked the captain to refute rumors that he had used the body of a dead singer for shadowy spiritual rituals.
Early in August, well-known hiplife singer Castro disappeared out in the ocean near the Peace Holiday Resort, a beach resort in Ada in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Lifelong friends Castro and Gyan were vacationing together at the resort.
Authorities assume Castro drowned in a jet-ski accident and disappeared into the ocean. They launched a large search and recovery effort but Castro’s body was never found.
Unfortunately for the journalist, Ghana contains some suspicious and superstitious people and rumors immediately began to circulate that Black Stars captain Gyan had killed Castro and was using his body for strange spiritual rituals.
This is what the journalist attempted to ask Gyan to clear up for the record.
But as he asked the question, many at the conference rebuked him. He was told that the question was a distraction as the team prepared for the AFCON 2015 qualifier round against Uganda. Also, the older brother of team captain Gyan was upset enough to try and start a fight with the journalist.
Gyan’s brother and a few friends tried to attack the journalist at the press conference. During the brief tussle the journalist lost his glasses and wallet.
Things soon calmed down but after the presser “thugs” led by Baffour Gyan again set upon journalist Kenu.
The angry mob badly battered Kenu but he eventually escaped with the help of another journalist.
The writer filed a police report and police put out a notice that they were looking for the brother of the Black Stars player. Baffour soon turned himself in and the cops detained him for several hours as they attempted to locate his accomplices in the attack.
The authorities ultimately arrested and arraigned Baffour Gyan for assault and battery on Monday.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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