Produce other directors of Montie FM — Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Board of Directors of Montie FM, the radio station on which two political commentators allegedly threatened the lives of judges of the superior court, to appear before it on July 18, 2016.
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That was after only one director of the station had appeared before the court in a case in which the station, two political commentators and a presenter of the station have been cited for contempt of court.
When the case was called on Tuesday one Edward Addo came to represent the station as a director.
Counsel for Montie FM, Nana Ato Dadzie, argued that at the time the summons was served, Mr Addo, who is also a board member and shareholder of the company, was the only person available.
The court, however, asserted that Montie FM was a limited liability company and so it was not only Mr Addo who was legally responsible for it.
“We should have those who are legally responsible. The owners are, therefore, ordered to appear before the court on Monday, June 18, 2016 to show cause why they should not be punished for their alleged actions,’’ the court ordered.
“We need more time’’
The case took a new twist when Alistair Tairo Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn, the two political commentators, and Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, the radio presenter, pleaded with the court to give them more time to respond to the summons.
Standing calmly with their hands behind their backs and their faces down, they took turns to explain to the judges why they needed more time.
According to them, they heard about the summons in the media and received them only yesterday morning. They, therefore, prayed the court to give them ample time to consult with their lawyers.
When Masse, in particular, was called to give his plea after his charges had been read to him, he said he received the summons when he arrived at the Supreme Court on Tuesday to respond to another suit against him.
“I am, therefore, pleading with the court to give me enough time to interact with my lawyers,’’ he said.
Ako Gunn and Nelson also pleaded for more time, saying that they got their summons last Tuesday.
Adjournment and warning
The court, presided over by Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, granted the requests and adjourned the case to Monday, July 18, 2016 but warned the trio not to use the adjournment as a basis for delaying the case.
“We will not countenance any excuses that you were not given enough time,’’ the court said.
According to Ms Justice Akuffo, although Mondays were not days that the Supreme Court heard cases, the court had decided to hear the case on that day.
“We are doing this because people are on tenterhooks concerning this matter,’’ she said.
Recuse
Earlier, the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, and Mr Justice Sule Gbadegbe had recused themselves.
Explaining the rationale for the action, the Chief Justice said the alleged contemnors allegedly mentioned her name and that of Mr Justice Gbadegbe in their alleged comments.
Ms Justice Akuffo and Mr Justice Julius Ansah, therefore, replaced the two justices on the panel.
The rest of the panel were Mr Justice A.A. Benin, Mr Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie and Mr Justice Anin Yeboah.
Praises and CD
One interesting thing that occurred at the hearing was a submission by counsel for Maase, Nana Adjei Ampofo, that he had a compact disc (CD) which proved that on the day that the alleged comments were made, Maase had not attacked the judges but had rather been full of praises for them.
“The CD shows that on the 29th of June when the statements were allegedly made, he was full of praise for this honourable court,” he said.
Mr Ampofo made the comments after Maase had been called and given the opportunity to give his plea.
He prayed the court to consolidate the contempt case which was ordered by the Supreme Court and another suit which was seeking the court to commit the trio for contempt.
“A person who appears before a court on quasi-criminal charges should be given enough time to defend himself,’’ he argued.
At that point, Mr Justice Baffoe-Bonnie told counsel that he should allow Maase to give his plea before making any prayer to the court.
“You are praying that by listening to the tape, we will temper justice with mercy. Asking for mercy has nothing to do with a plea of guilty or not guilty,’’ he said.
GBA
At last Tuesday’s hearing, the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), led by its General Secretary, Mr Justice Amenovor, prayed the court to allow it to make a submission, arguing that it was an “amicus curiae” or a friend of the court.
The court refused the GBA’s prayer, saying that the case was a contempt case, of which the GBA was not a party, and, therefore, the association should have made a formal application.
Supporters
The court premises were swarmed by supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress.
In his quest to get pictures of Maase, Gunn and Nelson, a journalist from Citi FM had his tablet destroyed by one of the supporters.
The timely intervention of the police, however, prevented the journalist from being assaulted by the supporters.
There was heavy police presence in the precincts of the Supreme Court building.