In response to the attack on UTV during the United Showbiz program on Saturday, October 7, 2023, Despite Media has issued a press release.
In the statement, Despite media strongly denounced the assault on the media facility and stated that it was an attack on the freedom of the press and the media. The media outlet vowed to take all reasonable safety and legal precautions to prevent a repeat of the incident.
They also assured the media house’s staff that their safety was a top priority and that they would take all necessary precautions to ensure it at all times.
They also disclosed that top NPP figures apologized to the media outlet on behalf of the intruders.
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Below is the full statement from Despite Media.
“On the 7th of October, 2023, our Premises were invaded by a group of people who identified themselves as sympathizers or members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). This group further disrupted our live program, United Showbiz, for which reason, the program was halted for almost an hour.
However, with the timely intervention of the Police, peace and order was able to be restored. We are therefore grateful to the Police Administration, particularly the IGP for their assistance. We will continue to collaborate with the authorities to bring those responsible for this incident to justice.
We condemn this act of violence and vandalism as it violates our Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, and the Independence of the Media as enshrined under Chapters 5 and 12 respectively of the 1992 Constitution of our country. We are deeply concerned about this event and we are diligently taking all security and legal measures to prevent the reoccurrence of this unfortunate incident.
We understand that this event has caused concern amongst stakeholders and we want to assure all that, we are taking all the necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of our workers, guests, properties, clients and the interest of all other stakeholders.
We also wish to reassure our employees that we are here for you and will put in place all the necessary measures to ensure your safety at the workplace. We understand that this event may have caused some distress or anxiety amongst our working team but we want to assure you of Management’s support during this time.