Montie Hearing: Contemnors Found Guilty...Sentencing Fixed For July 27

The Supreme Court has pronounced a staff of an Accra-based Montie FM, Salifu Maase alias Mugabe and two panelists guilty of the contempt suit against them.

The court presided over by Justice Sophia Akuffo found the trio guilty of scandalizing the court, defying and lowering the authority of the court and bringing it into disrepute.

The contemnors were all given self recognisance bail by the court as they await sentencing on July 27.

During the court proceedings, presiding Judge Sophia Akuffo and her panel members played back the audio recordings of the contemnors' statements to the hearing of the court.

Prior to the airing of the tape, Counsels for the contemnors George Loh, Nana Ato Dadzie and Martin Ampofo Agyei had prayed the court not to air the audios citing that they are ashamed of the content of the tape.

The court after listening to the audios took a pause to decide the fate of the three persons for making disparaging remarks about the Judges.

Peace FM's Reporter Agya Kwabena, witnessing the court proceedings today, recounted that the contemnors together with their Counsels expressed regrets over their misbehavior on the air waves and so apologized to the Judges to temper justice with mercy.

Last week Chief Justice Georgina Wood and Justice Nasiru Sulemana Gbadegbe recused themselves from hearing the case.

Justice Baffoe Bonnie also recused himself today to avoid any conflict of interest situation due to his family relations with one of the managers of the station, Mr. Baffoe Bonnie.

Following closed-door consultations among themselves, the Justices returned to court and pronounced the culprits guilty of the contempt charge.

Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn were panelists on Montie FM's Afternoon political programme "Pampaso" where host Mugabe steering affairs allowed them to assassinate the character of the Judges.

They sternly warned the Judges of Ghana's highest court not to interfere with the work of the Electoral Commission (EC) if they did not want to suffer the fate of fellow Judges who were murdered on June 30, 1982 in the PNDC regime.