The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has condemned in no uncertain terms comments made by a radio programme host and two panellists who threatened the lives of Supreme Court and High Court Judges on June 29, 2016.
The comments were made during a live radio programme hosted by Salifu Maase, aka Mugabe, on Accra-based Muntie FM station, a pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) station.
NDC activists Godwin Ako Gunn, 39, and Alistair Tairo Nelson, 41, were panellists on the programme on which the chilling comments were uttered about a possible attack on the judges.
The three have been charged with contempt of court due to their statements.
The incident is currently under investigation by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
The plaintiff in the case, one Richard Asante Yeboah, said the men knew their comments were contemptuous, adding that the men said that they were ready to go to jail because of their comments.
The three respondents were upset at the judges because of a court order instructing the Electoral Commission (EC) to submit to the Supreme Court, the lists of individuals who used the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards in registering for the 2012 elections.
The plaintiff said that Mugabe urged Godwin to make comments that undermined the justices and the judiciary administration’s authority as a whole. Godwin is also accused of having made personal threats against Justice Jones Dotse and Chief Justice Georgina Wood, both of whom are part of the court case against the EC.
Alistair made the most severe threats against the court judges. According to the plaintiff, he (Alistair) claimed to know where the two judges lived, adding that he would carry out acts of violence against them.
Attack on Freedom
Rev Joseph Osei-Bonsu, Bishop of Konongo-Mampong and President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, signed the press release condemning the accused men. He said that their threats against the courts were also threats against the people of Ghana.
“Any attack on the Judiciary, the custodians of Law in our country, is an attack on our freedom and security as a nation,” he said.
Other organisations have joined in condemning the men’s comments, including the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana.
Rev Osei-Bonsu concluded his statement by calling on all Ghanaians to avoid the use of threats or violence to effect change in the country.
“We continue to urge all Ghanaians to preach peace and unity, for without peace and unity our country cannot move forward in the right direction,” he said.
The Bishops noted that it was becoming “increasingly worrying to us that on a daily basis some panellists on radio programmes and callers to these programmes continue to make unguarded comments and contributions instead of discussing issues that will benefit the development of Ghana.
“All these and more, in this period of the run-up to the 2016 elections, are contributing immensely to the rising political temperature in the country. We encourage all Ghanaians to take steps to bring down the political temperature”.
BY Derek Maiolo
derekmaiolo56@gmail.com