News:
August 8, 2016
Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament, Osei Bonsu Amoah wants President John Dramani Mahama to abreast himself with the ruling of the Supreme Court over the Montie FM saga before kowtowing to the demands of supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He believes that President Mahama after reading the ruling of the Apex Court would understand the spirit behind the sentencing of the trio – Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn, and Salifu Maase, aka Mugabe and would not do anything to jeopardise the image of the Judiciary.
“If President John Mahama critically peruses the judgement by the Supreme Court, in which the three persons were each handed a four-month jail term for scandalising the court and bringing its name into disrepute, he will certainly ignore the petition to grant them a presidential pardon”, he said.
He added “Probably, after reading the judgment, he will make a statement and that will curtail all these [calls to free the trio]. Why am I saying this? If you read the ruling…the court is saying that our main focus is to protect the state, protect the judiciary, to ensure law and order because what has happened is an affront to our democracy. …These people [Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Mugabe] acted with impunity; these people acted to undermine the powers of the judiciary, they scandalised the court”.
Mr. Amoah who is also the MP for Akuapem South was speaking on Multi TV’s news analysis program ‘Newsfile’ on Saturday.
His reaction was in connection to mounting pressure on President Mahama by some supporters of the NDC, including some ministers of State to exercise his prerogative of mercy power by invoking Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution to set free the Montie trio.
The party fateful have since the incarceration of the three petitioned the President to set them free from the Nsawam Medium Prisons.
Mr. Amoah commenting further on the issue said the judges were worried that after setting some examples during the Election Petition Case, the trend of verbally attacking the Judiciary has remained the same.
“The Judges were saying that for a long time, these things had been going on. They tried certain examples during the election petition but they believe still people are taking things for granted – and if you look at the reason why they have come to this conclusion, and you get a President who wants to reverse this, then the President really might not be interested in running the State well”.
“The independence of the judiciary is the bastion of our democracy and as they [SC Judges] said, they are seeking to ensure law and order, the security of the State, that people will not act with impunity and undermine every State institution. If they come to such conclusion, then you get any person to say that the President should reverse the kind of punishment that they meted out to such persons, then obviously it means you are not interested in [the State]”.
Story by Ghanamps.com