Awuku's ban should not keep us quiet - Pratt

Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwasi Pratt Jnr., has opined that the ban by the Supreme Court on Deputy Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, from witnessing proceedings in court for his contemptuous pronouncements on the election petition case, should not dissuade political analyst from expressing their views.

Mr Pratt does not believe it is the intention of the nine-member panel adjudicating the case to instill fear in Ghanaians, thus if members of the communication team for both the petitioners (NPP) and respondents (NDC), as well as commentators, refrain from passing remarks deemed to be disrespectful to the court and abide by the law, issues of contempt will not be a major matter.

“What has happened doesn’t mean we shouldn’t express our views, we must just be cautious. We must be very careful and go according to the law and understand the law well so as not to be cited with contempt.

“…there should not be any anxiety because of this; all we must do is to be careful. The intention of this is not to put fear in the citizenry,” he said on PEACE FM’s KOKROKOO.

An apologetic Sammy Awuku was on Wednesday June 26, 2013, banned by the Supreme Court from attending the ongoing election petition hearing after he described the judges sitting on the case as “selective and discriminatory”.

Mr. Awuku, who claimed he was provoked by earlier comments by an NDC panelist on Peace FM last Tuesday withdrew his comments and unreservedly apologized to the court.

He was, however, pardoned from receiving a heavy punishment from the Supreme Court after lawyers from both sides appealed with the court to tamper justice with mercy.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has invited three persons including an editor of a private newspaper, to appear before it to answer questions relating to some publications and commentary.

Kenneth Agyei Kurankyi of the Daily Searchlight newspaper, Stephen Atubiga, a member of the communication team of the ruling NDC and Kwaku Boahen, the NDC’s Ashanti Regional Youth Organiser, are to appear before the Supreme court on 2 July 2013 at 10:00am.

The journalist among the trio, Ken Kuranchie, is to answer to a front page comment published on the Thursday 27 June 2013 edition of his newspaper.