Any move to free ‘Montie trio’ contemnors will undermine judiciary - NDP
The National Democratic Party (NDP) has strongly kicked against any attempts by the President to free the ‘Montie trio contemnors.
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The party said such a move “will seriously undermine the Judiciary as well as engender an unwitting clash between the executive and the judicial arm of government.
A statement from the party stressed that if the President succumbed to those clamouring for the release of the ‘Montie trio, “it will lead to a public perception (whether rightly or wrongly) that the President approves of the actions of the contemnors, which may not be the case.”
It, therefore, condemned the conduct of the petitioners inviting the President to exercise his Article 72 powers to free the “Montie trio” contemnors.
Bad precedent
The statement further stressed that if the President yielded, it might set a very bad precedent in the deployment of Article 72 as it could have the potential of politicising its usage.
Furthermore, the statement signed by the party’s General Secretary, Mr Mohammed Frimpong, said the petitioners’ actions, if heeded, would be a negative development in efforts to sanitise the airwaves and could compromise the fight of civil society and the body politic at large, in combating the use of insults and foul language in political discourse.
“The NDP wants to state without ambiguity that this state of affairs should never be left to the President who has shown that he cannot appreciate the distinct devolution of the powers in Ghana and clearly wades into areas that he should not on numerous occasions,” the statement said.
It said when indiscipline reached a level that ordinary Ghanaians, statesmen and women, priests etc. were slandered by this Montie trio and the President said nothing, it would be most indecent on his part to encourage the fancy dress jokers of his party to continue asking for his clemency and pardon.
“Mr President, show Ghanaians that you care about everyone who has been hurt by the misdemeanor of these three rascals so that you do not ignite a full blown constitutional crisis,’’ the statement concluded.