Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako, the Brong Ahafo Regional correspondent of an Accra-based privately-owned the Daily Guide newspaper has filed a complaint to the police in Sunyani, the capital over alleged death threats on him by thugs of Nana Kwasi Baffour Bosomprah II, Paramount Chief of Goaso, a town in the region.
“I recently filed a story about an alleged assault of a queen mother by the paramount chief (Nana Bosomprah). The Chief and his aides called me after the publication and threatened to kill me. Although I have lodged an official complaint with the police, I am still living in a state of fear because I do not know when they will strike,” said Amoako in an email to Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) on October 14, 2011.
The Daily Guide on October 12 reported that the thugs threatened to “shoot and kill” Amoako, anytime, anywhere they meet him.” This was after invoking the “names of powerful gods and river deities in the area to kill him”.
In an October 11 publication headlined: “Chief beats Queen Mother in Public” on page 2 of the Daily Guide, the newspaper alleged that Nana Bosomprah had been found guilty and fined by an investigating committee for denigrating the stool by fighting in public.
According to the newspaper, when they contacted Nana Bosomprah, he threatened to deal with them if they published any story about him since he had not committed any crime. He said the allegation was an attempt by his detractors to disgrace him, claiming the paper had been tasked by his enemies to tarnish his image.
On an Accra-based radio station, Nana Bosomprah said it was his boys who attacked the queen mother and that he was accepting responsibility for their actions