Father of the late BBC presenter, and host of the Joy FM's Super Morning Show, Komla Dumor, today made a rare public statement on his son.

Professor Ernest Dumor, told members of the press that his son was courageous and protected by constitutional principles.

Prof Dumor, who has shied away from making public comments regarding the passing of his son, spoke at the Open Forum on Media and Governance, held at the International Press Centre in honour of the “Boss player”.

Prof Dumor described as unimaginable, the shock of his family when they discovered, well after the world had learnt of his passing, that the son and brother they had spoken to barely a day before, was no more.

He chose not to speak to the press, he said because “it takes time to heal” but the importance of the forum, which encompasses the very values his son stood for compelled him to finally speak out.

He expressed his hopes that the forum will “become a permanent feature of Komla’s legacy”.

Reminiscing about his son's life and career, he remembered exchanges between them when Komla exposed corruption at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT); a story which led to a tedious investigation.

Pressure had been mounting on the family as concerns over their son’s safety grew.

After Komla was called off to the Airforce base in connection with the investigation he had caused; from which he returned as late as 2am, his concerned father asked his son whether it was “really necessary for you to pursue this with the relentlessness we see”.

Komla, he said, displayed great courage when he insisted that any good journalist was protected by the Constitution and was covered by the directive principles of state policy.

This he said, “gave me consolation and enabled me to accompany him to the commissions”.

Prof Dumor expressed his desire that the “media in Ghana will be covered by the directive principles of state policy and throw the challenge and transform our country so that the issue of governance will be placed at the centre of the development policy in this country.”

The forum was organised by former professional colleagues and family of the Late Komla Afeke Dumor, with the backing of the Ghana Journalists' Association (GJA).

A memorial service will be held tomorrow January 17, at the Holy Spirit Cathedral at Adabraka in Accra.

Komla Dumor, who was widely regarded as a leading light of African journalism, passed away on January 18, 2014 in his London home, after presenting his “Focus on Africa” programme on the BBC the day before.