Officials of the Ethiopian Customs and Revenue on Wednesday held seven Ghanaian Journalists hostage for three hours for what they described as "Lack of permit to carry professional video cameras" into their country.
The Journalists who comprised staff of Ghana News Agency, Ghana Television, TV3 and Crystal Clear Lens Newspaper were part of Vice President John Dramani Mahama's advanced team in the country to cover the African Union (AU) Extraordinary summit slated for May 25 and May 26.
Not even an official letter from the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the staff of Ghana Embassy could convince the officials to release the cameras to the news team.
After three hours of talking and amidst exchange of words, there was nothing the team could do but to leave the cameras and head for their hotel.
An official who refused to disclose his name explained that the letter sent to customs about the Ghanaian Journalists did not indicate that they would carry video cameras along and there was no way they could allow them to enter the capital with the equipment.
He said it was only the Ministry of Communications which could issue that permit and once they had closed nobody else could do that adding: "We do not care if you are covering AU summit or not, we are working under superiors and we must obey the rules as well."
"Even if you bring your Ambassador, we cannot release the cameras… so do the right thing before we allow you to use the cameras," he stressed.
The journalists who could no longer hide their anger and disappointment left the airport casting insinuations and called on the AU to resolve the challenges, which were likely to impede the progress of Union.
"If they claim we are all part of the AU, how can Ethiopia treat their African brothers this way? One of the Ghanaian Journalists yelled in disappointment."
From George-Ramsey Benamba, GNA Special Correspondent in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia