On Monday, January 26, 2026, soldiers in Walewale, a town in Ghana’s North East Region, assaulted and detained Solomon Kwame Kanaluwe, a journalist with the Media General Group, over where he had parked his motorbike.
Solomon, the North East Regional correspondent for the Media General Group, told the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) that he had parked his motorbike in front of a shop when about four soldiers approached and began asking for the owner of the motorbike.
“Before I could say that the motorbike was mine, one of them struck me on the back with a cane,” he said. Solomon explained that he was wearing a T-shirt branded with the logo of Onua TV, a subsidiary of the Media General Group, and identified himself as a journalist when questioned. He said the soldiers dismissed this, responding, “and so what?”, and continued to assault him.
According to the journalist, the soldiers claimed that dealing with anyone who disrupts their operations was part of their work. He said one of the soldiers showed him a section of what he described as the military code of ethics on his phone, stating that when personnel are on duty and someone obstructs them, they are permitted to subject the person to what was described as minor punishment.
Solomon said he contacted the Municipal Chief Executive of the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, Mohammed Rabiyu Jabaah, who later arrived at the scene, checked on him and took photographs of his injuries.
He added that while riding away shortly afterwards, he was stopped again by the soldiers, marched to their base and questioned about whether he had taken pictures or videos of them. His mobile phone was seized for several hours, during which time the soldiers reportedly went through his WhatsApp messages while he remained in detention.
Solomon said one of the soldiers made a call and asked him to speak to a man who introduced himself as their commander. After hearing his account, the officer reportedly apologised for the soldiers’ conduct and directed that he be released, promising to follow up after taking his details.
Despite this, Solomon said he remained in custody for some time. His phone was later returned after the soldiers copied some contacts and forwarded selected messages to their personal phones. He said all data on the device had been deleted.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, Hon. Mohammed Rabiyu Jabaah has in a statement condemned the assault on the journalist describing it as “barbaric, unprofessional, and infantile show of brute force by these men in uniform on innocent civilians without any provocation whatsoever.”
Nearly a year ago in the same town, soldiers assaulted two journalists, Alhassan Dokurugu of Asaase Radio and Tahiru Ibrahim of Zaa Multimedia, shortly after they covered an arson attack on a passenger bus.
These cases raise concerns about the conduct of security services and the apparent disregard for due process when dealing with civilians, including media professionals. While security agencies have a mandate to enforce the law, this responsibility must be exercised within the bounds of professionalism, and respect for human rights. Alleged misconduct by civilians should be addressed through lawful procedures, not through assault or arbitrary punishment.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) strongly condemns the assault, detention, and invasion of privacy of Solomon Kwame Kanaluwe. While noting the apology reportedly offered by the unidentified commander, the MFWA calls on the military hierarchy and other security agencies to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident and ensure accountability.
The MFWA further urges security services to reaffirm their commitment to professionalism and due process, as the continued use of unjustified force against civilians undermines their own public image and public trust in them.
