Sixteen (16) New Patriotic Party (NPP) thugs who were detained for storming the offices of United Television (UTV) on Saturday, October 7, 2023, have been convicted and fined 200 penalty units (Ghc2400) apiece by the Achimota Magistrate Court.
The males were accused with criminal conspiracy and rioting. They pleaded guilty to the accusations and were later found guilty by the court.
On Saturday, October 7, during the station’s prime-time entertainment show, ‘United Showbiz,’ thugs invaded the UTV studio, stopped the live broadcast, and threatened to assault the host and her guests.
It was then revealed that the thugs were led by the NPP’s Klottey Korle Youth Organiser, purportedly on the orders of Ernest Owusu Bempah, a Deputy Director of Communications, and other ruling party leaders.
The organisation was outraged when A Plus, a panellist on the show, tore up a letter from the NPP leadership to UTV management asking a reform of the United Showbiz panel.
The Ghana Journalists Association, the Information Ministry, and several other organisations criticised the NPP thugs’ invasion.
Stephen Ntim, National Chairman of the NPP, afterwards issued an unequivocal apologies to UTV management.
Chairman Ntim came into the Peace FM studios on Thursday and publicly criticised the NPP’s actions.
In his apologies, he promised that the party’s leadership would take steps to prevent such heinous behaviour from happening again.
