The “entire saga” of the Montie Three reflected the extent to which radio had been “trivialised” and the depths to which journalistic standards had fallen in the country, renowned broadcaster Kwami Sefa Kayi has said.
For him, the decision to grant some persons free access to “the power of the media” to make unsavoury remarks against justices, for which they were subsequently incarcerated, was “almost depressing” and should not be allowed to happen again.
The Montie Three, as the trio – Salifu Maase, Godwin Ako Gunn, and Alistair Taro Nelson – were known, were convicted for contempt by the Supreme Court for insulting and threatening some justices of Ghana’s apex court on June 29, 2016 on Pampaso, a political talk show on Montie FM. They were each handed a four-month jail term in addition to a GHS 10,000 fine. However, following appeals by pro-government officials and groups, including the signing of a petition book by ministers of state among others, President John Mahama, invoking his powers under Article 72 of the constitution, granted the three remission after almost a month in prison.
