NO ACCREDITATION, NO SUPREME COURT, ---ACCRA POLICE COMMAND WARNS AHEAD OF SIR JOHN’S APPEARANCE AT SUPREME COURT, The Enquirer, Tuesday August 13, 2012

By  Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

The Accra Regional Police Command has reiterated its commitment to ensuring peace in the country and warned that people who do not have accreditation ID Cards issued by the Judiciary Services would not be allow at the premises of the Supreme court when the court resume Wednesday to hear the presidential election petition and the contempt case against the NPP general Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie.

According to the regional police commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Christian Tetteh Yohonu, the police would deal decisively with any person or group of persons who do not have accreditation to the court but found their way into the premises of the Supreme court to cause any form of confusing when the court resume Wednesday to hear the petition and also hear the contempt case against the general secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He told The Enquirer that the regional police command has met and resolved not to allow people to gather in groups near the premises of the Supreme Court, adding that if the police caught up with any group of persons at the court premises in groups without accreditation cards would be dealt with according to the law.

The regional police  command’s  warning  comes on the heels of some information gathered by the paper  that some people are planning to cause disturbance at the premises of the Supreme court  when  the General Secretary of the  New Patriotic Party (NPP),  Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie  appear before the  court  over some contemptuous commends he made against the bench.

But the regional police commander said, the police would not entertain any form of hooliganism from any group of persons who would disturbed the peace of the country , saying the police have a duty to by the constitution  to maintain law and order any person who take the peace of the country for granted would face the law when caught.

“The police would not allow any person to disturb the peace of this country, we are meeting and further decisions would be taking to ensure that no groups of persons are seen gather at the premises of the God. We will not allow anybody who does not have accreditation ID card to enter, unless such a person has a genuine business to deal with the court,” he said.

DCOP Yohonu stated that the election petition  hearing was being telecast live and that there was no need for nay person who do not have accreditation to come to the court premises when such a persons could easily watch the proceedings at home.

He said beside the normal checks at the entrance at the Supreme Court, the police would also monitor activities of people who throng the court premises, adding that no persons would be allow to gather in groups during court proceedings.

Mr. Kawdwo Owusu Afriyie, aka Sir John will appear before the justices of the Supreme Court on Wednesday August 14, 2013, to defend comments they made which were considered outrageous and intended to lower the court’s authority and credibility in the eyes of the general public.
The summons which was official issued on last Friday, quoted copiously from a publication of The Enquirer issue of Friday July 5, 2013 with a headline: “Sir John Descends on Justice Atuguba…Calls him a hypocrite, A joker who pampers Tsikata, Scolds Addison.”
According to the summons, The Enquirer claimed that Sir John made the comments on Oman FM on June 24, 2013 and spoke in Twi, adding that the NPP scribe per The Enquirer publication had described Justice Atuguba “as a hypocritical joker who pampers the counsel for the National Democratic Congress, Tsatsu Tsikata, but habitually scolds the counsel for the NPP,” and that the judge habitually “frowned like a voodoo deity”.
The summons further quoted  newspaper  as saying that Sir John had said “Justice Atuguba by his action, was up to hypocritical antics that is intended to lead NPP not to getting the opportunity to play a tape recording of Electoral Commissioner, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan’s voice declaring that ‘No verification, no vote’, so that the President can win the case.”
The Supreme Court per The Enquirer publication therefore issued a summon to Sir John to come and show cause why he should not be committed to prison for contempt of the court by scandalizing the court, lowering the authority and credibility of the court in the eyes of the general public, and exciting hatred and ill will towards 1st and 2nd respondent in the case.