Chronicle Editors convicted for contempt

Accra (Greater Accra), 19th May ?99 ?

An Accra High Court on Tuesday convicted the Editor and Deputy Editor of the Ghanaian Chronicle for contempt and fined them one million cedis each.

Ebo Quansah, Editor and Mohammed Affum, Deputy Editor, will go to prison for seven days in default.

The General Secretary of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), The Reverend Augustine Annor-Yeboah brought the contempt proceedings against them for publishing an article, which he claimed was prejudicial to a case involving him.

They rendered their unqualified apologies to the court and promised not to publish such a prejudicial article again.

The Court presided over by Mr Justice Richard Apaloo, in its ruling said but for the apology, it would have imposed a custodial sentence on them.

Publishers of the paper, General Portfolios Limited, were also fined two million cedis and they have seven days to pay the fine.

The court ordered the editors to publish an apology on the front page to retract the prejudicial article. In addition, they should apologise to the Judiciary, Police and the Complainants in a "form approved by the court".

Quansah and Affum will pay additional one million cedis each if they failed to publish the apologies.

Before sentence was passed, Quansah pleaded that he should be spared custodial sentence because he was looking after his ailing mother and his children, some of whom are about to enter higher institutions.

Affum pleaded that justice be tempered with mercy since he has a wife and five children some of who are of school-going age.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Apaloo upheld the relief sought by the applicants that the "conduct of the Editors constituted rude and wilful interference with the administration of justice".

He said the application for contempt was brought not so much to protect the reputation of the applicants but to vindicate the judiciary.

The court said it is on record that the Editors were aware of a pending court matter involving Rev. Annor-Yeboah yet they published extensive material on the issue.

The judge said the court had a responsibility of preventing the press from mudslinging.

In the April 14-15, 1999 edition of the Chronicle, Affum wrote an article captioned "Bribing the Police - Rev. Annor-Yeboah's style" and in which issues before a law court awaiting judgment were mentioned.

Mr Kwaku Baah was attorney for the applicants while Mr Akoto Ampaw was for the editors.