Kpoh discharged from prison

Accra, Sept. 19, GNA- An Accra Fast Track High Court (FTC) which on September 10 jailed Mr. Napoleon Kpoh, former General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) for one month for contempt, on Wednesday freed him from prison.

This followed a plea of variation of the sentence and an apology he rendered to the court, presided over by Mr. K.A. Ofori-Atta.

Mr. Dick Anyadi, a defence counsel, rendered the apology on behalf of Mr. Kpoh, pleading with the court to tamper justice with mercy and reverse the custodial sentence imposed on Mr. Kpoh.

"My Lord, I think he has learnt a lot while in jail and hopes not to go back and commit the same offence," Mr. Anyadi said.

According to him, he had spoken with both parties and they had agreed in principle to settle the matter, adding that, they had complied with the orders of the court.

Mr. Anyadi said, if Mr, Kpoh was allowed to serve his full term in jail, he would come out a bitter person and accuse his opponents as those who sent him to jail and that would not augur well for the peace and unity of the union.

He drew the attention of the court to the fact that the International Labour Organisation and the Ghana Trades Union Congress had shown interest and wanted to settle the matter between two parties. Mr. Albert Adaare, who represented the NEC opposed the attempted settlement of the matter.

He said what appeared to the court as an apology was a mere regret by Mr. Kpoh, adding that, he (Mr Kpoh) had not turned away completely from his actions.

Mr Adaare said it was untrue that there was a rumpus in the union and that the court should not be seen as aiding and abetting the contemnor by going back on its own ruling. The court after listening to both parties accepted the apology and discharged Mr. Kpoh.

The contempt suit was filed by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the ICU against Mr Kpoh to restrain him from holding himself as the General Secretary of the Union when his term of office ended in August, this year.

The court found the respondent guilty of the offence because it had earlier restrained Mr Kpoh from holding himself as the Secretary General of the ICU and to hand over all items belonging to the Union to the Interim Management Committee (IMC).

It observed that contempt of court was a punishable offence and that failure to observe the court's orders could undermine the administration of justice and respect for the courts.

It said the fact that Mr. Kpoh was present in court on that day and heard clearly the court's orders but went ahead to barricade the main entrance to the ICU offices showed his lack of respect for the court. It said the respondent also granted interviews to the media still holding himself as the General Secretary of the Union in contravention of the court's orders.

The court said Mr Kpoh also wrote to the bankers of the Union instructing them not to honour cheques from the NEC as well as instructing the Union's drivers when he had no mandate to do so. Those actions also smacked of disrespect for the court.