The Supreme Court will today [Monday] hear the contempt suit against host of Accra based Montie FM, Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe and two panelists, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn.
The court, last week Tuesday adjourned the hearing of the case to today after Salifu Maase, who appeared before the court said he was only served the contempt summons on the morning of the day the case was expected to be heard.
[contextly_sidebar id=”l8vuTzksyyIlRIwqZALigexDpFvTLEt3″]Mr. Maase further stated that he was in court because of a contempt writ against him by a private citizen, Richard Asante Yeboah, which was served him the day before.
Justices upset over court absences
The adjournment of the case was also to allow the directors of Montie FM to appear before justices for the hearing to proceed.
The Supreme Court Justices hearing the contempt suit questioned the failure of all the owners of the station to appear before them.
A Ghanaian citizen, Edward Addo appeared in court last Tuesday, indicating that he was representing the rest of the owners of the company.
His announcement did not go down well with the apex court justices with the presiding judge, Sophia Akuffo, demanding that all the persons cited in the contempt suit appear in person since the case was a quasi-criminal one.
Responding to the concerns of the Justices, Lawyer for the owners, Nana Ato Dadzie, explained that the owners of the station, Network Broadcasting Limited, and all the directors apart from Mr. Edward Addo, were all out of the country.
The owners of the station are expected to appear before the justices, since the court warned it could not hear the case with just Edward Addo representing the owners who were said to be outside the jurisdiction.
What led to the contempt suit?
The Supreme Court had cited the owners of the radio station and the panelists for contempt and asked them in a letter to explain why they should not be “committed to prison for contempt of court, for scandalizing the court, defying and lowering the authority of the court, and bringing the authority of the court into disrepute.”
The two panelists in question, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn, have been the faces of this controversy as they allegedly threatened to “finish” the Supreme Court judges if they made any judgment against the Electoral Commission in the recent court case challenging the validity of the voters’ register.
CJ, Gbadegbe step down from Montie FM contempt case
Prior to the hearing, the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, and another judge of the Supreme Court, Sulley Gbadegbe, stepped down from the panel.
According to them, they did so because their names were specifically mentioned in the comments of the three people facing the contempt charges.
The two judges were replaced by Justice Sophia Akuffo and Justice Julius Ansah.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana