Montie 3: Counter petition pointless - Edudzi Tameklo

Lawyers for the three jailed Montie FM contemnors have described the Progressive People’s Party’s campaign against freeing the convicts as “much ado about nothing”.

A petition book to solicit one million signatures in support of freeing Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn, and Salifu Maase, aka Mugabe, who have been cited for contempt by the Supreme Court for scandalising and bringing the name of the bench into disrepute when they threatened to kill justices of the court during a discussion on political talk show Pampaso, hosted by ‘Mugabe’ on Accra-based Montie FM, was opened at Radio Gold in Accra.

But there have been calls from civil society groups, the clergy, and high-profile individuals asking the president not to intervene in the four-month sentence handed to the three. The PPP on Wednesday August 3 embarked on a nationwide drive to gather signatures to petition President Mahama to pay no heed to the calls for him to intervene.

But lawyers of the convicted three have said the PPP’s petition will have no impact on the president’s decision to exercise his prerogative of mercy.

Speaking to Class News, Edudzi Tameklo, one of the lawyers for the convicts said: “It is much ado about nothing and I make this point because…the president is opportune to exercise his prerogative of mercy [and will] not do that on the basis of how many petitions or signatures have been [collected].

Then to say that there is a counter petition and for that matter nothing ought to be done, that is not how the president’s powers under Article 72 are to be exercised. We, as lawyers, only needed the signature of the people instructing us and they are enough for us for the purpose of invoking the president’s powers under Article 72. Whatever somebody decides to do, even if they get 25 million signatures, that’s entirely their business.”