Photo: Oheneba Boamah Bennie, formerly of TV XYZ
Oheneba Boamah Bennie, a broadcast journalist long associated with pro-NDC political commentary on TV XYZ, has launched a blistering critique of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing the party of abandoning him despite years of unflinching loyalty — and even a prison sentence incurred in the line of political defence.
In a candid and emotionally charged broadcast on TV XYZ, Boamah lamented the lack of recognition and support from the very political establishment he had championed through turbulent times. His comments signal a potential ideological and professional realignment, with overtures even toward opposition-aligned media outlets, should a better offer arise.
“As long as I am a media personality, I am like a football player. If I play in your team and I am not happy, I will go to another team, which is your opponent, and play there and take good money,” he declared.
This metaphor, likening journalistic alignment to the professional mobility of athletes, marks a turning point in Boamah’s relationship with the NDC, raising uncomfortable questions about the transactional dynamics between political parties and the media personalities who rally behind them.
Boamah, once imprisoned for contempt in relation to statements deemed threatening to the judiciary during the 2020 elections — and perceived by many as having taken the fall in defence of the NDC — now accuses the party of treating him as “an outsider”.
“If I came here to work and make you happy, and I leave for home, and my wife and I eat gari to sleep, we are not living a life. Living life is when I get home, and my wife and children are also happy.”
His remarks reflect a broader sense of disillusionment and raise questions about how political parties in Ghana treat their most vocal and visible sympathisers once the stakes of opposition campaigning give way to the comfort of incumbency.
Boamah even hinted at a willingness to switch to media houses affiliated with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), including Wontumi TV and Asaase Radio — a significant departure from his previous ideological posturing.
“So one day, if any of the NPP media houses scattered around like Asaase Radio or Wontumi TV/Radio approach me with big money and the deal is good, I will move from TV XYZ with alacrity,” he said bluntly. “I have a wife and kids to feed.”
His final comment on air — “You guys should keep playing, we will meet in the desert” — was interpreted by many as a warning shot to the NDC leadership, suggesting unresolved bitterness and possibly a deeper political fallout.
Meanwhile, The Hawk Newspaper has independently confirmed that Boamah’s time at TV XYZ has come to an end. He is reportedly headed to a new role under the ownership of Dr Aye Afriyie and his wife — proprietors of GhanaWeb — and is set to join a new television station yet to be formally unveiled.
Sources describe the move as financially attractive and symbolically significant, given the reported scope and ambition of the new media outfit. His move may not only redefine his career trajectory but also reshape the broader media-political dynamic between Ghana’s two main parties.
For a man who has long been a vocal foot soldier in the political trenches, Oheneba Boamah Bennie now appears ready to rewrite the rules of engagement — and perhaps, the team he plays for.
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