A Magistrate’s Contempt Of The Media

The Ghana Journalists' Association (GJA) has rightly protested the glaring contempt of the media by Her Worship Efua Sackey, a magistrate.

While she deserves unfettered reverence from all as a member of the bench as are other citizens performing varied roles in society, we frown upon her palpable and incessant contempt of the media. We, as journalists, deserve reciprocal gesture from the bench, including Her Worship Efua Sackey, who we hold in high esteem as a representative of the Chief Justice and for that matter the judiciary.

The judiciary and the media both contribute towards the maintenance of law and order; while members of the bench visit the appropriate sanctions on those who breach the contents of our statutes, the media put these out. The effects of what the media puts out are enormous as citizens appreciate what awaits them when they fall foul of the law and therefore conduct themselves accordingly.

Her incessant contemptuous treatment of journalists in her court does not advance the cause of development and democracy because these ladies and gentlemen of the fourth estate of the realm are restricted in the performance of their role.

Were it possible and consistent with the norm, we would have suggested that she encourages the Chief Justice to order the stoppage of media coverage of proceedings in the courts since after all she does not like seeing us doing our work.

We are law abiding citizens and responsible for that matter and so for us to be treated like school children who do not know their limits in a courtroom is to belittle our intelligence. We do not want to think that that her inappropriate attitude towards us derives from a non-recognition of our societal role even if the constitution does.

We take consolation though that this contemptuous attitude is an isolated development restricted to a lone member of the bench, not widespread to prompt a second thought about the continuous coverage of the Judicial Service.

By ordering the temporary seizure of the mobile phones of journalists covering proceedings in her court, especially the Dr Obengfo case, presupposes her opposition to the audio recording therein. That the seizure was limited to journalists and not other members of the public seated in the court, is worrying and suggestive of a calculated effort to belittle us in the eyes of members of the public.

We dread a situation where the cordial bond between the media and the Judicial Service of Ghana which has been excellent is poisoned by the matter under review if Her Worship decides to continue on the worrying tangent.