It Is Potentially Dangerous… - Kweku Baako On Montie 3 Appeal

Kweku Baako

The Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Kweku Baako Jnr has suggested that it will be wrong for the President to accept and go by an appeal to free the ‘Montie 3’.

According to him, it (appeal) “is a potentially dangerous invitation to a President to enter a minefield; and when he does that he will step on the mine…potentially dangerous…”

Kweku Baako was speaking to the sentencing of the Montie 3 during a panel discussion on Joy FM’s newsfile programme, Saturday.

Pressure is currently being mounted on President John Mahama from members of his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to invoke Article 72 of the Constitution to grant a presidential pardon to Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn, and Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, who were sentenced to imprisonment for contempt.

Apart from the jail sentence, each of the three contemnors has been fined a sum of GHS10,000. The owners of the station, including Mr Harry Zakkour, who is also the second vice-chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress, as well as Mr Edward Addo, Ato Ahwoi, and Kwesi Kyei Atuah, have been fined GHS30000 each. They were given up to Thursday July 28 to pay the fine or risk a month’s jail term. The owners have also been asked by the Supreme Court to submit policy documents spelling out how to forestall similar happenings in the future. They have also been asked to ensure that none of their media outlets will be used to scandalise the court or bring it into disrepute.

Research and Advocacy Platform (RAP), a think tank, is pooling signatures to support a petition to that end.

Lawyers for the contemnors have also petitioned the president to fall on his constitutional powers to free the three.

Speaking to the same issue on the same platform, Egbert Faibile Jnr, a lawyer also prayed for the President not to listen to calls to invoke Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution.

He expressed shock at Ministers and Members of Parliament who signed and supported the petition to free the trio.

According to him, "it is even shameful that ministers of state working under the President actually 'colluded' with people to sign to put pressure on the President."



Source: Peacefmonline.com