Supreme Court judges are being hypocritical and selective -Sammy Awuku

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Created on Tuesday, 25 June 2013 00:00

Supreme Court judges are being hypocritical and selective -Sammy Awuku

25 June 2013

Deputy Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, has described the Supreme Court’s warning to the media and party representatives in the ongoing election petition as “hypocritical and selective”.

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He said Tuesday morning on Accra-based Peace FM that the nine-member panel led by Justice Atuguba was choosy in citing precisely the report by the Daily Guide newspaper that some boxes containing pink sheets that had allegedly gone missing in his custody had been retrieved.

According to him, the court could have issued the warning without necessarily mentioning a specific newspaper or persons.

He was of the belief that “the court could have achieved this feet by giving general warnings and warning the parties involved” since commentaries by party representatives could influence the court’s judgement.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a final warning to the media and party representatives that the court would not hesitate to punish anyone found culpable of “twisting” and “spinning” information in relation to the court proceedings.

The president of the panel, Justice William Atuguba who issued the warning said the “uncontrolled power” that had been acquired by the media and party representatives would be “halted” if they continued to present “unacceptable” statements to the consuming public.

This is the third time the court has issued a warning to both the media and the parties since the petition got underway, warning over inexactitudes in the manner proceedings are reported or the manipulation of same would be punished.

However, Mr Awuku, who was not contended with the court’s caution, described the warning as unfair since it seemed to sideline the NPP and pro-NPP newspapers.

He cited instances where members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had made pre-judicial statements and thought it fair that Justice Atuguba mentioned them as well.

He said, “Deladem (of the NDC) is sitting in the studio saying that the court petition is a waste of time. If you cannot control the NDC panelist in the studio then it’s unfair. He has already judged the case. The president who is a party to the issues in court says he won freely, clearly and he went back to his party headquarters saying that the court would judge in his favour. Does that mean we are there for showmanship?”

“Kakra Asamoah, a member of the NDC communications team said if the NPP won this case he would support a coup d’état. This order did not come…Gabby Asumeng said on OK FM that if Nana is declared winner on the face of the pink sheet there would be civil war in Ghana. The Alhajj, Informer, Network Herald all report on the court proceedings. Is it only Daily Guide that reports on the court proceedings?” he asked.

Mr Awuku further noted that the Supreme Court judges were democrats and thus should be opened up for criticisms on their decisions.

Source: By Jasmine Arku/Graphic.com.gh