International news network, Al Jazeera has stated that they do not owe President Akufo-Addo and the ruling government an apology for the contents of the fourth installment of its Gold Mafia documentary.
After the publication of the documentary, the government issued a statement signed by the President’s Executive Secretary, Nana Asante Bediatuo asking Al Jazeera to retract and apologize for a portion of the documentary that suggested that Akufo-Addo had dealings with a self-acclaimed money-launderer and gold smuggler, Canadian Alistair Mathias.
The documentary had alleged that the President acted as a lawyer for one Mr Alistair Mathias and personally benefited unlawfully from an alleged $100 million state infrastructure contract purportedly awarded to Mr Mathias.
Following the publication of the letter, a journalist with Accra-based TV3 wrote to the Doha-based channel seeking among others responses to whether the channel had received the letter demanding a retraction and apology from the government and whether they would respond to same.
In a response shared on the May 4 edition of the News Day program, TV3 published an email response from Al Jazeera which suggested that the channel had taken care of all concerns raised by Akufo-Addo before the said documentary aired.
“We have responded to the letter from the president of the Republic of Ghana, correcting some parts of its content and clarifying various points.
“Prior to the publication of Gold Mafia, we wrote to the president outlining the claims made by Alistair Mathias. The president’s response appears at the end of the documentary,” their response noted.