Ayikoi Otoo would’ve been wrong choice of Counsel for me - Ken Kuranchie

Managing Editor of the Daily Searchlight Newspaper, Ken Kuranchie, says former Attorney General, Nii Ayikoi Otoo, would have been the wrong choice of Counsel for his criminal contempt defence hearing.

His conviction followed what the Justices of the Supreme Court deemed as the argumentative nature of his Counsel, Samuel Atta-Akyea’s defence, as well as the Journalist’s own belligerent and unrepentant posture in open Court.

Mr. Kuranchie was found guilty and jailed for 10 days for having defended the description of the nine-member panel hearing the election petition case as “hypocritical and selective”.

Those words were used against the Justices by a member of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, who was scolded by the Bench and also barred from attending the hearing any further.

He says he still has “absolutely no regrets” for the Abuakwa South Member of Parliament as Counsel.

He told XYZ News in an interview on Thursday that: “I believe absolutely in the qualities of Mr. Atta Akyea”.

Mr. Kuranchie’s repose of confidence in the Lawyer-Legislator comes on the heels of commentary by some pundits such as Insight Newspaper Chief Editor Kwesi Pratt Jr. and Deputy National Youth Council Coordinator, Prince Derrick Adjei, that a custodial sentence could have been averted by Kuranchie if only he had had proper legal advice.

Ahead of similar contempt hearings against the party’s General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, also known as Sir John and fellow party Communicator, Hopeson Adorye, on Wednesday, Derrick Adjei advised the Contemnors against engaging the services of Atta Akyea to avert the fate of Kuranchie.

Although the two politicians were successfully defended by their Counsel, former Attorney General Nii Ayikoi Otoo, Kuranchie says the former Minister would have been a wrong choice of defence lawyer for his case.

According to him, per the circumstances surrounding his case, Atta Akyea was the best Counsel to have represented him.

“For my case, Ayikoi Otoo would have been the wrong lawyer…for the case I intended to make, I think that if I had sought the Counsel of Ayikoi Otoo, I would have made a mistake. I think that for what they wanted to do yesterday, he was brilliant but for my case ‘no’; I think I needed a different Lawyer”.