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Montie sentencing: Presidential Pardon would be 'scandalous' – Lawyers

By MyJoyOnline
General News Montie sentencing: Presidential Pardon would be 'scandalous' – Lawyers
JUL 28, 2016 LISTEN

Two legal experts are strongly opposed to suggestions of a Presidential Pardon for a broadcaster and his two guests who were jailed for contempt by the Supreme Court, Wednesday.

Law Lecturer at the Central University in Accra, Yaw Oppong and Counsel at Bentsi-Enchill Letsa & Ankomah, Korieh Duodu, have unanimously indicated that an Executive intervention in the four months jail sentencing of the trio would be an attack on the independence of the Judiciary.

“It simply won’t be acceptable for the President to do that,” said Korieh Duodu on current affairs programme, PM Express on the Joy News channel on Multi TV, Wednesday evening.

There have been suggestions that the four-month jail sentencing plus a fine of GHȻ10,000 slapped on host of a political talk show on Accra-based Montie FM, Salifu Maase and his two panelists, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn was too harsh.

The panelists, on the discussion programme, Pampaso, on the local language station threatened to kill judges who ordered the deletion of over 56, 000 'illegal' names from the voters register.

The Host is said to have fuelled the threatening comments by the panelist and did not restrain them from making them.

Some commentators have seen the sentencing -- which also fined owners of the station GHȻ30,000 -- as a slap in the face of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) since owners of the radio station, the host and the panelists are known supporters of the party.

Some have said President John Mahama could exercise his Executive Orders by granting the jailed NDC affiliates Presidential Pardon, in a bid to appease party supporters who seen the Supreme Court verdict as unfair.

However, speaking on PM Express, Mr Duodu said the issue could escalate if the President took such a step.

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“That would a scandalous thing to do,” he said, adding because of the political twist to matter, it would untenable for the President to attempt an intervention.

“The Supreme Court, acting in its independent capacity, has made this ruling and expects the ruling to be carried out,” he stressed.

Yaw Oppong also told PM Express host Nana Ansah Kwao IV the President must rise above the temptation to please NDC supporters by taking any counter action.

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“It won’t be legally appropriate, that doesn’t mean it will be against the law, but in the general frame of things it will never be appropriate – especially in an election year,” he said.

“It may be politically disastrous. There are people who have vowed to vote this way or that way. But the few who determine who should be President of Ghana the so called floating voters and things like these can easily sway them. But it should not just be based on voting. It should be based on sound principles,” he adds.

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In Mr Duodu's view, the sentencing could stifle free speech and freedom of expression, although he admits the threats on Judges were unacceptable.

He said once journalists are too careful about what to say and what not to say their watchdog role is affected.

"It is a disaster if you start putting journalists in prison," he said adding the ruling could even affect confidence in the Judiciary.

He has described Wednesdays sentencing as an extreme example of contempt he has witnessed in all 16 years of his law practice.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected]

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