“Storming the court to free people who are on trial is worse than sitting on radio and threatening the court. It is worse, so we expect that the system will treat it with the seriousness that it requires, but as it turns out, all we are left with is feeling high and dry,” he said on Eyewitness News on Thursday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”DeFSlqhckKGZSQJvgrZJefs3MARpIKMe”]Mr. Ankomah said this when his views were sought on the GHc1, 800 fines imposed on the 13 members of the Delta Force, who were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime by rioting, after they were captured on a video manhandling the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei.

While the case was being heard, some of their members stormed the court and set their colleagues free, leaving the judge and court staff in shock.

The 13 suspectes later turned themselves in to the court, and were made to sign a bond of good behaviour, and fined Ghc2,400 cedis each.

But under rather bizarre circumstances, the eight persons who raided the court, were freed for lack of evidence, a development that was widely condemned, considering the threat that action posed to the judiciary.

Following these developments, many have described the fines slapped on the 13 as weak, and a subtle attempt by the government to ensure that the culprits who are members of the ruling party do not spend time in jail.

Some civil society organizations including the Center for Democratic Development, has said the fines are woefully inadequate.

In the case of the infamous Montie three, Salifu Maase, the host of a political show on Montie FM, a pro-NDC station, and two of his panelists – Alistair Nelson, and Godwin Ako Gunn – were convicted of contempt by the Supreme Court and jailed four months for threatening the lives of some Justices of the Supreme Court.

However, former President John Mahama remitted the jail term after some Ministers and leading members of the National Democratic Congress petitioned him since the contemnors were perceived NDC loyalists.

Ace Ankomah told Richard Dela Sky on Eyewitness News that, such the handling of the Delta Force case “feed the perception that if your government is in power, somehow, you can get away with such acts.”

He warned further that, such occurrences “are emboldening more people to storm a police station to free somebody who has been arrested, to storm a DCE’s Office to scare the person out of office.”

AG can appeal Delta Force 13 fines

Ace Ankomah also said the Attorney-General can appeal the fines handed out to the 13 Delta Force members if they so wish.

“…If they feel the fines are not big enough, then the AG could appeal against not the conviction, but the sentencing; the amount of the fine, to give another court the opportunity to review,” Mr. Ankomah opined on Eyewitness News.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Delta Force court raid worse than Montie 3 – Ace Ankomah appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Chief Justice nominee was asked at her vetting on Friday about the politicization of certain cases with specific references to the Montie three and Delta Force cases but she declined to give any substantial comments on them.

[contextly_sidebar id=”sA8It8PNcUvTZVi7LGyenbd2YrQNApSj”]The Montie Three; Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase, were sentenced to jail for four months after they were found to be in contempt of the Supreme Court in July of 2016, when they threatened the lives of Supreme Court Justices on a live radio programme.

They were subsequently pardoned after serving only a month, by Former President Mahama, who exercised his constitutional prerogative of mercy, following petitions presented to him mostly by members of his government and party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

As part of the judgement on the case which Justice Akuffo presided over, the four directors of Network Broadcasting Limited (Owners of Radio Gold and Montie FM), were roped into the contempt charge, and ordered to pay a fine of GHc30,000. Harry Zakuor, owner of Zeze media, which owns Montie FM’s frequency was also to pay a separate fine of GHc30,000.

Responding to a question on the idea of contempt protecting the integrity of the court, Justice Akuffo said, she was “not comfortable about being called upon to justify a judgment that we have delivered, but in general terms, concerning the scope of the exercising of the contempt power or labeling something to be contemptuous, I believe that each case will dictate the outcome.”

On the Delta Force case, Justice Akuffo argued that it may still be brought before the courts.

Giving his take on what transpired at the vetting, Mr. Ablakwa argued that the nominee missed the opportunity to assure the country of the courts’ political neutrality.

“… I thought she opted to be cagey and she opted to be evasive.It’s her right to do that but I thought that this was an opportunity for her to show that they would be consistent and they will clear all doubts in the minds of  anybody because that was a very political matter,” Mr. Ablakwa said.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Sophia Akuffo was “evasive” on Montie 3, Delta Force case – Ablakwa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Justice Akuffo simply said she was uncomfortable justifying a judgment she delivered.

[contextly_sidebar id=”hD9FQk7XsLFM1CVpQAUSiRRS5nmMowBk”]The Montie Three; Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase, were sentenced to jail for four months after they were found to be in contempt of the Supreme Court in July of 2016, when they threatened the lives of Supreme Court Justices during a live radio programme.

The three were subsequently pardoned after serving only a month, by Former President Mahama, who exercised his constitutional prerogative of mercy, following petitions presented to him mostly by members of his government and party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

As part of her judgement, the four directors of Network Broadcasting Limited (Owners of Radio Gold and Montie FM), were roped into the contempt charge, and ordered to pay a fine of GHc30,000. Harry Zakuor, owner of Zeze media, which owns Montie FM’s frequency was also to pay a separate fine of GHc30,000.

Responding to a question on the idea of contempt protecting the integrity of the court, Justice Akuffo said, she was “not comfortable about being called upon to justify a judgment that we have delivered, but in general terms, concerning the scope of the exercising of the contempt power or labeling something to be contemptuous, I believe that each case will dictate the outcome.”

The question, from the Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga, sought to understand why the contempt charge was extended to the owners of Montie FM.

Justice Akuffo, during her judgment at the time, said the owners were careless in their submissions to the court, as they appeared to have little or no interest in what transpired on their radio station.

She expressed the hope that, every media owner will henceforth take a keen interest in what is churned out on their frequencies.

GIBA suit against NMC

Also of note was the question relating to the declaration as constitutional, the law requiring media owners to seek content approval from the National Media Commission (NMC) before publication.

In a unanimous decision in November 2016, a seven-member panel, led by Justice Akuffo, held that certain regulations in the NMC (Content Standards) Regulations 2015 (L.I. 2224) amounted to censorship and contravened Article 162 Clause (4) of the 1992 Constitution.

Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) had dragged the NMC and the Attorney-General to court over aspects of the regulation.

GIBA claimed that the regulations were an affront to freedom of speech and the rights and freedoms granted to the media under Article 162 of the 1992 Constitution.

Justice Akuffo, explaining some aspects of the panel’s reasoning, said they considered aspects of the NMC’s regulations to be too broad and only asked them to return to the court with specifics.

“The balance is that, in the matter against the media commission, regulations were being made which were over-broad without specificity and carried all kinds of sanctions, therefore, what we were calling on the commission to do was to go back to the drawing board.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Sophia Akuffo ‘swerves’ Montie 3 question during vetting appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In an interview with Citi News’ Richard Sky, the MP said the fine was not only lenient, but also smacked of partisan considerations.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oHKUsohmAbphuJ8AHKA9EYO0TjJcNGdt”]“I’m tempted to believe there is one law for one side of the political divide and another for other political parties in the country,” Mr. Oti Bless opined.

The 13 Delta Force members were fined GHc2,400 each or in default spend three years in prison, and are to sign a bond of good behaviour, and abide by the terms of the bond for a period of six months, or in default serve two years jail term.

But Mr. Oti Bless weighed the Delta Force case against the controversy surrounding the Montie trio case in 2016 when a recording emerged of him verbally attacking the Supreme Court on Montie FM’s ‘Pampaso’ programme, that saw the host of the show and two panelists imprisoned for contempt.

He accused the Chief Justice of conniving with the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in an attempt to reverse the election results in 2008 and in 2012 among other allegations.

The MP recounted that “we were in this country when I went on Montie FM to make some statements; my views as to what was happening in our judicial system and what didn’t you hear in this country? I was mashed like kenkey for one full month. I was bashed a whole lot.”

“For the Montie Three, these were just verbal statements on radio. They were remanded for months and asked to pay GHc 10,000 each. Comparing that to what happened in Kumasi, which one is grievous? Which one has effects on the rule of law… Looking at the gravity of the two offences, even a three-day-old baby would disagree with this kind of ruling.”

Mr. Oti Bless spoke on the issue with a tone of urgency and asserted that “the future of our country is in danger” because of the perceived lax handling of the case.

“It has serious implications. It is going have a serious effect on this country as far young people are concerned. What are we telling the young people? It means that we are now encouraging other people to take the law into their hands,” the MP stated.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post AG must appeal Delta Force escapees’ fine – Oti Bless appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Former President John Mahama granted a remission of the sentences of the Montie trio; Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase, after they were found to be in contempt of the Supreme Court in July of 2016.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ynnI7fFr9VMiEpYQAL6U3r87UwmaiEvX”]The lawsuit was filed by the Executive Secretary of the current President, Nana Akufo-Addo, Nana Asante Bediatuo in September 2016, without any response until a few days before the expiration of the term of office of the former President Mahama.

The case, which was called at the Supreme Court today [Thursday], had to be adjourned to allow the State Attorney to respond to the Plaintiff.

The plaintiff went to court seeking a declaration that the President’s action at the time was unconstitutional, and also a further order to have the Montie three rearrested and jailed to serve their sentences in full.

Background

The Montie three were imprisoned in July for criminal contempt of court after they threatened the lives of Supreme Court Justices during a live radio programme.

After their four months incarceration, two petitions were started and signed by top NDC government officials and thousands of sympathizers in an attempt to compel President Mahama to exercise his prerogative of mercy powers per Article 72 of the constitution.

Former President Mahama eventually exercised this power on Monday, August 22 following consultations with the Council of State, after the convicts spent only one month in jail.

Many criticized the President for satisfying the interest of his party, while disrespecting the judiciary.

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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post AG absent from court in case challenging Montie trio’s release appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“The party will soon open nominations at the national level and when that happens, I will pick the forms and the position I will contesting for will be that of the national organiser,” he told citifmonline.com in an interview.

The NDC will hold its national delegates congress from October 24 to 26 to elect national delegates for the party.

Mr. Adams who is also the spokesperson of former president of Ghana and founder of the NDC, Jerry John Rawlings, was suspended in March 2012 both as an executive and a member of the NDC.

This was  after a secret tape emerged on which he was allegedly heard plotting with a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko to ensure the NDC lost the 2012 elections.

He was however reinstated by the National Executive Committee of the party in 2013 as a full member of the NDC.

According to Mr. Adams, it is normal with his political career to be where his services are needed most.

“I believe that at this hour the party needs a younger person that understands the party in and out, that also understands governance in and out and is able to combine these two effectively to organise the party that is in power,” he said.

Mr. Adams will be challenging the current National Organiser of the party, Yaw Boateng Gyan for the slot.

By: Mawuli Tsikata/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @MawuliTsikata

The post Confirmed: Kofi Adams to contest NDC national organiser appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.