A private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu has condemned the recent attack on Multimedia Group's journalist, Erastus Asare Donkor, and his three other colleagues by some illegal miners.

The journalists were attacked by the illegal miners at Asumenya in the Ashanti region. The perpetrators were said to be staff of Edelmetallum Resources Limited, a mining firm in the area.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on Monday, October 21, 2024, Martin Kpebu said the act was fuelled by impunity, explaining that perpetrators of similar inactions in the past were not punished by authorities, hence the repetition.

"It’s the impunity, you remember two years ago you reported Chairman Wontumi for Galamsey in the Tano forest with pictorial evidence, date. IGP Dampare and Faustina Addo have refused to move the case forward so you see that once Wuntumi, a politically exposed person has not been prosecuted other persons with power will not be prosecuted because from what Erastus told you, the guys (perpetrators) mentioned that their government is in power so that is also indicating a lot of political connections," he said.

He further explained, "So once Wuntumi was not prosecuted it is a signal of impunity so other politically connected persons will not be prosecuted. So for me it's about the prosecution of those you already have some evidence against".

The perpetrators were invited by police in the Ashanti region but according to Erastus, they boldly declined the police invitation.

For Martin Kpebu, the perpetrators' refusal to respond to the Police's invitation is also a sign of authorities' failure to punish earlier perpetrators.

He also raised concerns over the independence of the Police Service saying, "It tells you that the police are not independent, that's the main thing".

On his part, Kenneth Ashigbey of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, also speaking on the show questioned the integrity of the various state institutions, including the Minerals Commission.

He added that the coalition will consider legal action against the inaction to make sure that the perpetrators are called to book.

He stated, "We are also going to take steps, we asked the lawyers of Media Coalition against Galamsey to help us take all the steps that we need to take".

According to Erastus, after the attack on them, they sought police escort from the community, which was declined by the Police. Ashigbey, however, described the Police's act as unacceptable.

He called for collaboration to tackle the menace and fight for justice for Erastus and his colleagues.