FOR MAKING CONTEMPTUOUS STATEMENTS, UTTERANCES, TWO JAILED, The Enquirer, Wednesday, 3rd July,2013

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

 The Supreme Court yesterday sentenced Ken Kuranchie, the editor of the Daily Searchlight newspaper and  Stephen Atubiga, a member of the communication team of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC),  into 10 and three days imprisonment respectively over contemptuous statements they made in the media with regards to the ongoing presidential election petition case at the Supreme Court.
The court however,   discharged Kweku Boahen, the Ashanti regio0nal youth organizer of the NDC, on the grounds that the comments he made fall out from the date in which the court issued its final warning touchline against prejudicial statements on the case.

The three men were ordered to appear before the court for making the comments after the judges issued a final warning about reportage on the case that any person either in the media or not who crosses the final touchline on proper coverage and reportage the court proceedings will be met with the appropriate response from its authority.

According to the court,  in its ruling read by the presiding judge, Mr. Justice William Atuguba,   Mr.Kuranchie  failed to show any remorse when he appeared before them, while Atubuga statement  was so serious to the effect that it could  throw the country into civil war , even though he apologized and showed remorse about his action.

The two convicts and Boahen were summoned by the Supreme Court to demonstrate its resolve to nip prejudicial statements and any form of media articles that could undermine the work of the judiciary in the bud.

They were directed to appear before the court barely 24 hours after the court barred the Deputy Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Sammy Awuku, from attending the hearing of the case until the final determination of the matter, after he had made inappropriate comments in connection with the court’s June 24 order.

Stephen Atubiga

The first to appear before the judges did apologies unreservedly for the comments he made on the radio station which sought to disrespect the authority of the court.

He told the court to temper justices with mercy and pardon him for the wrong done, adding that if given the second opportunity he would render the apologies on the same network.

“I am sorry, I take full responsibility of my words and apologized to you my lords, I did not meant what I said, but I took responsible of my own action and if giving the second chance I would not do that,” he apologized profusely.

Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, lead counsel for the NDC in the petition case stood as counsel for him on the basis of amicus-curiae (friend of the court) and prayed the court to temper justice with mercy on his client.

All other counsels in the petition case threw their support to Tsatsu and pratyed to the court to have mercy on the NDC communication members as haven been first time offender.

He was summoned before the court on the grounds that he warned that the NDC would not accept the verdict of the court if the first petitioner and 2012 presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was declared the president of the country by the supreme court .

The summons which was read  in the open court  did indicated that, the NDC communication member  made contemptuous statement on June 25^, on an Accra based private radio station, Asempa FM, which was reproduced in the New Statesman newspaper.

Kweku Boahen

He told the court that the publication which the court used to summons him was false and that he did not appeared on any radio station on the said date the Newspaper suggested.

According to him, the story attributed him was just a fabrication to tarnish his reputation and invited the Supreme Court to order an investigation into it.

He also drowned the court attention that the New Statesman newspaper which reported the story against him has render apology and retracted the story for not been accurate.

 Kweku Boahen, who is the Ashanti regional Youth Organizer of the   NDC, was alleged to have also made similar contemptuous statement on two separate radio stations, Angel and Boss FM both in the Ashanti region.

He was purported to have said that, the NDC party will not sit down and allow the Supreme Court of Ghana to overturn the results of the 2012 election in favour of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) .

Ken Kuranchie

Mr. Kuranchie who appeared with his three member team of lawyers led by Mr. Atta Akyea said the publication on his newspaper was not meant to disrespect the court, but rather asking for direction from the court as to how the public, especially the media should comments on the matter.

According to him, he did no wrong and that if he did do any wrong which did not go down well with the court, he apologized.

Mr. Kuranchie who was summoned before the court for a front page comment he published in the Thursday, June 27 edition of his newspaper told the court that the publication was harmless and that he apologized if the comments occasioned the displeasure of the court.

Several intervention by his legal counsel proved futile  as the court said his reaction and failed to  sincerely apologies to the court indicated that he did not see any thing wrong in his publication.

The summons to Kuranchie reads, “It having come to the notice of the Court that the newspaper known as “The Daily Searchlight Vol. 10 Number 111 - Thursday 27th day of June, 2013”, published on its front page, continuing on page 2 thereof news items headed: “Is There Justice In The Land?”

“The Loose Talkers Supreme Court did not see or hear! as well as its “Front Page Comment, Can We Comment on Decisions of the Supreme Court Hearing or Not?  Their Lordships Should Come Clean”

According to the court, the newspaper’s comment touched and concerned the court, and also appeared to be contemptuous of the court.

The nine panel of the supreme court that sentenced the two  are,  Mr Justice Atuguba, (presiding), Mr Justice Julius Ansah, Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyira, Ms Justice Rose Owusu, Mr Justice Jones Dotse, Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, Mr Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Mr. Justice N. S. Gbadegbe and Mrs Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo.

Judges comments

Justice Jones Dotse, a member of the panel said the decision by the court to summons people who make prejudicial comments against the court on the ongoing election petition case was not meant to gag the freedom of expression, but to maintain sanity in the system.

According to him, the Supreme Court being the highest court of the land would be the last to gag the media or the citizens from expression their views on issues, but warned that the court would not countenance irresponsible comments from the public.

Mr. Justice Atuguba, president of the nine panel said the court would not sit unconcern and allow individual or group of persons to throw the country into civil war.

According to him, in advance countries like the USA, no politician could make such comments like the three contemnors and get free away with it.

He warned that the court has a duty to protect the ordinary citizen which the 1992 constitution guaranteed its sovereignty to and that those who declare wars and other comments which sought to create chaos in the country would not have easy.

Justice Atuguba also expressed concern about the blatant disrespect to the judiciary as the third arm of governances, saying the country has three arm of government and those who found themselves in the executive arm of government should not think that they are more important than the other separate arms of governance.

The   two convicts, Stephen Atubuga and Ken Kuranchie was taken to the police headquarters before the state decide which of the prisons in the country that they should kept.

KPMG Report

Nii Amanor Dodoo yesterday ended his evidence under cross examination on the audit count on the pink sheets to the court.

He was discharged by the court after lead counsel for the respondents have all ended their cross examination on him, following the submission of the final report to the court.

Under cross examination by lead counsel for the NDC, Mr Tsatsu Tsika, the KPMG witness said the audit counting discovered triplications of pink sheets which were filed as exhibits by the petitioners.

He said 58% of the entire pink sheets filed by the petitioners were duplicated and that1, 545 pink sheets were not able to be identifying either by their exhibits numbers or code numbers.

According to him, the firm counted a total of 13, 926 pink sheets   been copies before the court Registrar per the category of exhibits series provided by the petitioners,.

He said out of the total number, 1,975 not eligibly marked and that the fugure comes to 12,38, adding that 9504 pink sheets which have exhibit numbers appearing only ones, while 5,470 pink sheets also have their code numbers appearing only ones.

Mr. Dodoo, a total of 9,504 exhibits appears ones, per their names and 5,470 exhibits appeared ones with code numbers, adding that 6,911 and 2,877 exhibits appears in duplicate , triplicate  with polling station names and code numbers.

The case has been adjourned till today for the petitioners to continue cross examination on Dr Afari-Gyan, witness of the second respondent and returning officer of the presidential elections.