The Ga Traditional Council has appealed to President John Mahama to exercise his powers under article 72 of the 1992 Constitution and release the Montie FM trio who were recently sentenced to jail by the Supreme Court for contempt.
The Council addressing the Media today [Monday] contended that the decision to jail them for four months was too harsh.
[contextly_sidebar id=”3xB1coWpe13Hb48Z1hrIeqDbNtC5htDU”]“If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling, nobody can question the court but we think that the verdict is a harsh one,” the Gbese Mantse and a member of the tradition council, Nii Ayibonte, stated to the media.
The Council noted that it condemns the threats issued against the nation’s Superior Court Justices by the three, but Nii Ayibonte asserted that “as chiefs in the country, we have the right to plead.”
The three; Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, were sentenced to four months in jail on Wednesday, after they were found guilty of contempt.
This was after they threatened the lives of the judges who were presiding over a case on the credibility of the voters’ register.
The incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) leadership in particular has described the sentencing as harsh.
Petitions for release of trio
A group calling itself the Research and Advocacy Platform (RAP), opened the petition book in a bid to persuade President Mahama to activate his prerogative of mercy powers under Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution.
This petition book has paved the way for prominent members of the NDC and members of cabinet to showcase their support for the three.
A Deputy Education Minister in charge of tertiary, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Head of the Presidential Delivery Unit, Valerie Sawyerr, Minister of Education, Professor Jane Nana Opoku-Agyeman and the founder of the Ghana Freedom Party, Akua Donkor are among the signatories to the petition.
A vigil was also held in support of them on the premises of Radio Gold, an affiliate of Montie FM.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana