Veteran Journalist Ben Asante, Renowned for War Coverage in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Dies at 76

Africa has lost one of its most respected journalistic voices. Ben Asante, the veteran Ghanaian journalist famed for his fearless reporting from the frontlines of the Liberian and Sierra Leonean civil wars, has died in Accra after a prolonged illness. He was 76 years old.

Born in Keta in 1949, Asante’s early years were marked by deep involvement in Pan-Africanist ideals.

As a young man, he joined the Ghana Young Pioneer Movement inspired by President Kwame Nkrumah’s nationalist vision. His student activism extended beyond Ghana, as he became a leading member of the Ghana United Nations Students Association (GUNSA) and, in 1971, was elected the first Regional Secretary for Africa of the International Students Movement for the United Nations (ISMUN) during a conference at Ife, Nigeria.

He later worked with ISMUN’s Nairobi office, focusing on liberation movements, apartheid, and human rights issues across the continent.

Asante honed his journalism skills at the School of Journalism, University of Nairobi, before embarking on a remarkable career that spanned five decades. He served as a correspondent for Afrika magazine in the 1970s and later became Political Editor for prestigious pan-African publications including Africa Now, New African, and West Africa, while based in the United Kingdom. His incisive political reporting made him a respected figure in media circles across Africa and Europe.

His reputation was cemented on the frontlines. As one of the first journalists to cover the outbreak of the Liberian Civil War in 1990, Asante provided powerful, on-the-ground accounts that brought global attention to the crisis. Alongside his colleague Lindsay Barrett, he ventured into war zones at great personal risk, producing dispatches that became essential sources of information for international audiences.

His coverage of Liberia and later Sierra Leone reflected not only courage but also deep empathy for those caught in conflict.

Beyond war reporting, Asante built a reputation as an authority on ECOWAS affairs, Nigerian politics, and West African development issues.

His work combined sharp political analysis with a Pan-African perspective, ensuring that African voices and contexts were not lost in the global media narrative.

Colleagues and admirers have described him as a trailblazer who inspired a generation of African journalists to pursue stories with integrity and fearlessness.

His passing, they say, marks the end of an era in African journalism.

Ben Asante’s life’s work reflected his conviction that journalism could be both a witness to history and a force for justice.

His legacy endures in the countless stories he told—and in the many he inspired to tell Africa’s story with the same courage and commitment.