Drama unfolded at the Ashanti Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) in Kumasi on Saturday November 26, 2011 when a young man was arrested after posing as a journalist to deceive the organisers of a press soiree held for selected media personnel in the metropolis.
The true identity of Justice Frimpong, who is said to be working at the RCC on the premise of the ruling party, was exposed after he masqueraded as a reporter for a certain "Monday" newspaper, a paper yet to be traced on the market.
The whole drama began when the organisers of the programme, Ghana AIDS Commission, asked media personnel to sign their names and receive kits of documents containing information on HIV/AIDS, put together by the Commission.
As the media personnel took their turn to register their names, Justice Frimpong, who appeared a little bit confused, grabbed a pen, wrote his name, and assigned the Monday newspaper against it.
Not convinced about the identity of the culprit and the said newspaper, which he claimed he was working for, the Ashanti Regional Editor of the Ghanaian Times newspaper, Kingsley Hope, subjected him to thorough questioning, ostensibly to uncover his true identity and that of the newspaper he represented.
After several bouts of questioning, Justice appeared inconsistent in his answers, giving conflicting responses to questions that were being asked by "colleague" media personnel.
First, the culprit told journalists present at the occasion that the Monday newspaper was based in Accra, and mentioned one Inusah as his news editor, who assigned him for the programme, which had been exclusively organised for media personnel in the Ashanti Region.
Still not convinced, Hope asked him to give him the number of the said editor so that he could cross-check from him if, indeed, there was a newspaper like Monday, of which he (Inusah) was the editor.
The conversation that took place between Hope and the supposed news editor, which was put on loud speaker went as follows:
Hope: Good evening, sir, is that Mr.Inusah?
Inusah: Yeah, this is Inusah who am I speaking with?
Hope: Please my name is Kingsley Hope of the Ghanaian Times in Kumasi; please we would like to know if you happen to be the news editor of a newspaper called "Monday".
Inusah: No, I don't know anything about what you are talking about.
Hope: There is a guy here at the Regional Coordinating Council, who goes by the name Justice Frimpong, and he says you sent him from Accra to cover a programme here in Kumasi.
Inusah: Yeah, I know Justice, but I didn't send him anywhere, and I am not a news editor.
At this juncture, the culprit, who realised that his antics had failed, started shivering and panting for breath, but kept holding onto his identity, insisting he was a journalist.
But, after reeling under several interrogations, Justice finally confessed that he was not a journalist, and begged that he be forgiven, but the media personnel insisted he be handed over to the police to serve as a deterrent to others who parade the corridors of event organisers posing as journalists and extorting monies from them.
It, however, took the intervention of some National Democratic Congress sympathizers and one staff at the RCC, who later identified him as a casual worker and a member of the ruling party.
Credit: The Ghanaian Chronicle
