The Police and Ato Dadzie: Is there an archaic law?

n pending district assembly elections

By: I. K. Gyasi
I strongly disagree with those who denounce as archaic and obnoxious a section of the Criminal Code that makes it an offence to cause fear, panic and alarm in the country.

When they say that the law is archaic, I am reminded of the dialogue between Angelo and Isabella in Shakespeare's play, MEASURE FOR MEASURE.

A law in the Dukedom of Vienna makes fornication a capital offence. Unfortunately, Duke Vincentio is unable or unwilling to enforce the law.

When fornication threatens to destroy the moral fabric of the dukedom, the Duke temporarily relinquishes his position in favour of the Deputy Duke, Angelo. The Duke pretends to leave the dukedom.

No sooner does Angelo take over, than he has his first case of fornication involving Claudio, a brother of Isabella. The woman who commits fornication with Claudio is Juliet.

When Isabella goes to Angelo to plead for the life of her brother, she tells Angelo, 'Think, my Lord. Many people have committed this offence, but who has ever been executed for it?'

Angelo replies, 'The law has not been dead, though it has slept. If those who first committed the crime of fornication had been executed, it would have acted as a deterrent to those contemplating committing the offence. Now the law is awake, and will deal with those who commit the offence.'(I have rendered the dialogue in Modern English and also paraphrased it).

During the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, some rascals and ruffians and criminals on rogue radio stations created fear, panic and alarm with fabrications of blatant lies.

They created the false impression that the Electoral Commission was about to rig the elections in favour of a particular political party.

A group of party election observers were deliberately and falsely described as thugs who were going to a particular region to cause mayhem and steal ballot boxes. Because of this falsehood, some of these observers were badly assaulted.

Again, the lie was put out that there was so much instability that banks had been closed down, and Ghana's airspace had been sealed off.

The Ghana Police Service says it was not the present government that forced them to move against Mr. Ato Kwamena Dadzie.

Well, if they had used the same initiative, they should have arrested the ruffians, rogues, rascals, criminals and fabricators of lies who instigated people to destabilise the country.

In January this year, the news went out that there was going to be a major earthquake. Whether it was intended or not, this falsehood actually created fear, panic and alarm in the population.

If the police had managed to arrest the person who sent the message, and charged him under this section of the Criminal Code, who would have criticised the law as archaic and obnoxious?

Is a law archaic, merely because it was passed a long time ago, or because it has not been applied for a long time? The English Parliament passed the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679. The Act traced its roots to the Magna Carta (Great Charter), extracted from King John in the year 1215. Should we condemn it as archaic?

Let me repeat that contrary to what some media people think, we still need that section of the Criminal Code that makes it an offence for any person to publish information that causes fear, panic and alarm.

We do not want silly, irresponsible and thoughtless persons (in the media or outside it) putting out the story that 'The President of the Republic died in a plane crash last night,' only for them to turn round to say that it was all an April Fool's Day joke.

That section of the Criminal Code does not criminalise free expression within the law, whether such expression is started in the newspapers, radio and television, at a public forum or at the market place.

Of course, there is the real possibility of any government or the police selectively, unjustifiably or unreasonably invoking the law.

A law must be respected. Unfortunately, that section has become the butt of jokes following its application in the cases of Mr. Ato Kwamena Dadzie of Joy FM, and Mr. Enimil Ashong, Editor of the 'Ghanaian Times.' I cannot mention the trial of Nana Adarkwa, because the case is still before the law courts.

The present government and the Ghana Police Service must be careful how this section of the Criminal Code is invoked.

Even if the government can prove that it has nothing to do with the action taken by the police, it can still be blamed, rightly or wrongly.

Frankly, I do not care about Mr. Ato Kwamena Dadzie. This young man subjected my traditional overlord, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, and Ashantis, to gross, disrespectful and gratuitous abuse in the case of Techiman and Tuobodom. I find it hard to forgive him.

However, I very much care about the media. I have been writing for the media (newspaper articles and radio commentary) since 1966.

I have a certificate from the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA). I am also an Honorary Member of the GJA, an honour conferred on only a few other persons.

Consequently, I am naturally concerned about the fear, panic and alarm which the Ghana Police Service appears to be spreading in media circles in particular, and in the population generally.

Journalists, others who work in the media, and those of us cheering from the sidelines, owe a duty of care to be responsible and respectful of others. Arrogance and recklessness have no place in the profession.

The police must also be careful not to bring the law or their own reputation into hatred, ridicule and contempt.

PS. I invited corrections and additional information regarding my article entitled THE ADANSI CONTRIBUTION TO JOURNALISM IN GHANA, and published in 'The Chronicle' of Monday July 19, 2010.

Mr. Sebastian K Freiku was the Deputy Editor of 'The Chronicle' and not the Regional Editor. It was his great-grandmother, a Fanti, who first settled at Akrokerri. It is his mother who is an Nzema.

Mr. Bankole Timothy was not an Editor of the 'Daily Graphic.' He was the Foreign News Editor, who also doubled as the Features Editor.

I also wrote for 'The Pioneer' and the Accra-based 'The Independent.'

I also edited the 'Guidance,' a monthly published by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana.

Thank you, Mr. Freiku, Mr. Opoku, Mr. Justice Saeed Kwaku Gyan, Dr. Rose Mensah Kutin, Mr. Sammy Aduagyei, Maulvi A. Wahab Adam, Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, and Mr. Frank Apeagyei for your corrections and comments.