A group of National Democratic Congress (NDC) communicators yesterday besieged the party’s headquarters in Accra to demand the release of the host of a political programme on Accra-based Montie FM and two panel members.
Chanting and swearing, members of the group said they wanted the leadership of the ruling party to appeal to President John Dramani Mahama to invoke his powers of clemency to free Salifu Maase, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako-Gunn, all of whom had begun serving jail sentences for contemptuous comments they made against the Supreme Court judges.
The three were on Wednesday sentenced to a four-month jail term and a fine of GH¢ 10,000 each for threatening to kill judges who sat on a case involving the Electoral Commission and PNC youth organiser Abu Ramadan and another person, Evans Nimako.
Harsh sentencing
A member of the group, Hajia Bintu, said the sentence was harsh.
“We are here to show our action against the judgement; issuing of communique can not solve our problems; we just want our leaders to know that we are not happy, hence our presence here to show our dissatisfaction, “she explained.
She further pointed out that the group was working for President Mahama.
“We will not sit down for Mugabe to be in prison. We want Mugabe back, if not what we will do here, they will not find it easy,” one of them stated.
NDC Shocked
When the Daily Graphic team contacted the party’s National Chairman, Mr Kofi Portuphy, he expressed shock at the judgement.
He assured the group that the leadership of the party would follow due process in resolving the matter.
He, therefore, urged the group to remain calm and not to take the laws into their own hands.
Mr Portuphy also called on Ghanaians not to allow the outcome of the judgement to polarise the country further.
He recalled the case in which the former General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, made a contemptuous case and appeared before the Supreme Court judges.
“The whole nation pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy and this is what we expect in this particular case,” he said.
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