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National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Portuphy has described the ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) against the two panelists, and host of the ‘Pampaso’ show on Montie FM as unfair and pathetic.

I was shocked by the Supreme Court’s judgment over the ‘Montie 3’ because our level of democracy does not demand the punishment given per the crime caused.

Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, have been sentenced to serve four months in jail on the 27th July 2016, after being found guilty of contempt charges based on slanderous statements they made against judges who were presiding over a case on the credibility of the voters’ register.

He added that the Supreme Court could have given a more flexible verdict than this current one because a lot of ‘big’ men have pleaded together with the victims after they realized the harm caused.

Speaking to KASAPA FM, Mr Portuphy insisted that “We as a party still stand by our earlier statement issued after the Supreme Court’s ruling, that we are unable to reconcile our claim of a free democratic state in which the rights of citizens are paramount with such excessive censure of the right to free expression. This judgment sends an unfortunate impression about Ghana, its judiciary and severely dents our enviable reputation as a beacon of democracy on the African continent and beyond.”

“To be frank the laws used on the victims were laws used in the colonial days which even the British who are advanced in systems of democracy have removed from their constitution. Therefore for a developing country like Ghana practicing democracy, when one commits a crime, he/she must be arrested by the police, investigated and prosecuted before the judges come in.

“The verdict makes my heart bleed for this country, since it can be anyone else tomorrow. he said.