Punish Ken Agyapong like you did with ‘Montie 3’ – Group to Judiciary

General news for Sunday, September 13, 2020

Source: Starr FM

2020-09-13

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A group calling itself Progressive Intellectuals has asked the judiciary to punish the deputy from the Assin Central constituency, Kennedy Agyapong, for insulting a judge as was done in the case of ‘Montie 3’.

According to the group, the apology of the legislator of the New Patriotic Party (PNP) does not atone for his television attacks on the judge.

The MP was seen in a video insulting the judge for a land case still before the court.

“You are a stupid judge. I’ll face you … I’m not Anas to take a bribe from you. I’ll take care of you, ”she raged on her television show.

The deputy is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, September 14, 2020, after he was summoned for the attack.

In a statement, progressive intellectuals said: “Ghanaians hope that the judiciary, as in the ‘Montie trio’, will strike the whip against Hon Kennedy Agyapong without fear or favor. We hope that the well-known hackneyed maxim of “equality before the law”, which underpins all democratic and legal societies like Ghana, will be respected. “

He underlined: “We regard the Hon MP’s illegal conduct as a serious offense and more shocking than the regrettable ‘Montie trio’ episode. Therefore, the NPP deputy is expected to receive a fair trial in court and also to be allowed to have his day, and if found guilty, appropriate punishment to deter like-minded people. “

Below are the details of the statement:

IN THE MATTER OF OFFICE AGAINST THE HONORARY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR ASSIN CENTRAL, CENTRAL REGION, HONORABLE KENNEDY AGYAPONG.

We write as a group known as Progressive Intellectuals, made up of academics with diverse backgrounds in Ghana, to bring our concerns to the attention of Ghanaians on the above topic.

We recall that in 2016, three individual Ghanaians were convicted on contempt charges for making some careless and unfortunate statements about the Honorable Chief Justice and some Supreme Court justices on an evening radio talk show on Montie 100.1 FM. To emphasize, the three individuals were convicted on their own guilty pleas on the following charges of disdain against the Supreme Court; scandalize the court; challenge and lower the authority of the court; and discredit the authority of the court. In a ruling by the Supreme Court of Ghana on July 27, 2016, the contestants, Salifu Maase (aka Mugabe) Godwin Ako Gunn and Alistair Tairo Nelson, citizens of Ghana, were sentenced to prison for contempt of court. Before they were sentenced, the gentlemen in subsequent broadcasts on different platforms, expressed their remorse and apologized without reservation for their statements. They admitted their guilt, apologized for their conduct and pleaded for mercy and forgiveness in court. It should be noted that, despite his personal apologies and the pleas of supporters to the court to alter justice with mercy, the Supreme Court was willing to pass a judgment in accordance with article 126 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to act as a deterrent to the general public. The final sentence was a sentence for each of them to four (4) months in prison, together with a fine of GHC10,000.00 each or, failing that, an additional period of one (1) month.

After paying the fines and serving part of the prison terms in Nsawam Medium Security Prison, the convicts applied to the President and received clemency through the legitimate exercise of the prerogative of clemency under article 72 of the 1992 Constitution. , which received mixed reactions from citizens. general public.

It is instructive to note that, as expected of the moral society, before the “Montie trio” was condemned, the general public, including civil society organizations, religious organizations, professional bodies (in particular, the College Ghana Lawyers Association (GBA), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA)), political parties (including the party to which they allegedly belonged, the NDC) and some respected persons had condemned their conduct with all the promptness he deserved.

In recent days, Ghanaians woke up to hear a very serious and reprehensible statement allegedly delivered by the honorable Member of Parliament for Assin Central in the central region, Hon Kennedy Agyapong, threatening to deal with a sitting judge in a case in the who is involved. himself as a defendant. Kennedy Agyapong in his private medium, Net 2 TV, on Wednesday, September 2, 2020, used very unprintable language to express his displeasure in a land case in which he appears as a defendant and an interested party. His anger stemmed from the trial judge’s decision to grant a court order against him without allegedly performing due diligence. In his fury, the deputy alleged that Ghanaian judges abuse their powers in accordance with their judicial functions and threatened to “confront the judge” in this particular matter and dared to challenge him.

We take note of the fact that upon receiving a contempt of court summons, the MP of the NPP has issued a personal statement prior to the scheduled hearing date of September 14, 2020 to apologize to the Honorable Chief Justice and the judges of the courts in Ghana as a whole.

We note to repeat the brief antecedents of the two cases to underline the principles that should inform the moral judgments of the public in general and, in particular, of the court that is trying this matter to take judicial note of the precedents and lessons for posterity.

In a democratic society like Ghana, the least one would expect is the incorrect application of our laws and / or the unfair treatment of citizens based on their race, place of origin, political opinion, color, religion, creed or gender against the spirit of article 12. (2) of the 1992 Constitution.

In the first place, without prejudice to the legal proceedings, we are still surprised by the strong silence from the general public and, in particular, from the GBA in condemning this disparaging outburst. Therefore, we will demand the same speedy conviction from the GBA, GJA and related organizations as they did in the case of the “Montie trio”.

Always, as academics, we will expect a higher level of condemnation for someone in the capacity of legislator of our Republic, who is naturally expected to live above reproach and defend the institutions of government that have sworn to do the same.

Ghanaians hope that the judiciary, in the same way as in the ‘Montie trio’, will strike the whip against Hon Kennedy Agyapong without fear or favor. We hope that the notorious hackneyed maxim of “equality before the law” that underpins all democratic and legal societies like Ghana will be upheld.

We regard the Hon MP’s illegal conduct as a serious offense and more shocking than the unfortunate episode of the ‘Montie trio’. Therefore, the NPP deputy is expected to receive a fair trial in court and also be allowed to have his day, and if found guilty, the appropriate punishment will be applied to deter like-minded people.

We rely on the highest impartiality of the Ghanaian judiciary and hope that no influence will be exerted on this matter in any way in the pursuit of justice and fairness. We are also in this statement calling on the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, to publicly condemn the conduct of his NPP deputy and support a fair trial of it.

Long live Ghana!

Long live the Judiciary of Ghana!

Long live the progressive intellectuals of Ghana