The National Media Commission (NMC) has extended the final warning to Onua FM and Captain Smart to Friday, November 24, 2023 after which the commission says it may act without any further reference to Media General, owners of Onua FM and television station.
The extension of the deadline follows a response Onua FM/TV sent to the NMC in a letter dated November 20, 2023, in respect of the final warning the NMC gave the media house last week over the said inciteful broadcast by one of the presenters of the media house, Captain Smart.
The NMC last week issued a final warning to Onua Radio/TV and Captain Smart over an inciteful broadcast.
The NMC had stated that Onua TV/FM through its presenter Captain Smart had carried an inciteful broadcast in which Captain Smart directly insulted the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and other Commanders of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and described them as “beasts.”
Captain Smart had claimed that the military officers embezzle monies meant for soldiers on peace keeping operations but offered no evidence to back his claims, the NMC stated.
“This was as dangerous as it was unprofessional,” the commission added.
The commission in its letter made reference to a similar incident in 2022 where in a letter dated December 8, 2022, it drew the attention of Onua TV/FM to the use of the station to promote violence against the state and the management’s lack of capacity to address same.
The NMC said it was of concern that the behaviour persists after attention was drawn to it and the management was not instituting any measures for any internal gatekeeping to help prevent re-occurence.
