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Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Hon Baba Jamal has begged to differ on the clarion call made by some of his colleague National Democratic Congress (NDC) members on President John Dramani Mahama to exercise his constitutional powers by freeing the infamous ‘Montie 3’.

According to him, he signed the petition book to mark solidarity with the trio and not to plead with President John Dramani Mahama to use article 72 of the 1992 Constitution to set them free from prison.

Speaking on Okay Fm’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Baba Jamal insisted that if President Mahama gives Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako-Gunn and Salifu Maase presidential pardon, it will mean that he is interfering in the justice system.

“...so in my opinion, the President should not pardon them. If the lawyers for the ‘Montie 3 want, they should go for review if there is a chance; but for the President to grant them presidential pardon, it will be a landmark act, attached to his name”, he stated.

He based his point on the fact that former President John Agyekum Kufuor has been tagged as a president who interfered in the justice system after he directed that more judges be empaneled so Tsatsu Tsikata could be jailed, weeks after he had been set free by Justice Afreh.

“This issue has become a landmark case so that whenever we talk of people who interfere in the judicial system, President Kufuor’s name will be mentioned. During Busia’s era, the issue of Ben Salah, when he was set free by the court, Busia came out to say ‘no court’ and Busia has become one of the Presidents who interfered in the justice system”, he argued.

He stressed that, “I don’t want President Mahama to be tagged as one of the Presidents that interfered in the justice system because the next generation will not understand what happened but simply say that President Mahama released Montie 3 when Supreme Court jailed them”.

He however joined others with the opinion that the Supreme Court punishment was too harsh after the trio have shown remorse and regretted for their actions; thus, their public apology should have minimized their sentence.