Montie 3: ‘Cowardly’ NDC leaders to blame for conviction - Atta Akyea

Apart from the jail sentence, each of the three contemnors has been fined a sum of GHS10000. The owners of the station including Mr. Harry Zakkour, who is also the second vice- chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress, as well as Mr. Edward Addo, Ato Ahwoi, and Kwesi Kyei Atuah, have been fined GHS30000 each.

They are to pay the fine by the end of Thursday July 28 or risk a month’s jail term. The owners have also been asked by the Supreme Court to submit policy documents spelling out how to forestall similar happenings in the future. They have also been asked to ensure that none of their media outlets will be used to scandalise the court or bring it into disrepute.

Critics of the judgement have said the sentence was harsh, gagged free speech, and was vindictive of the NDC, a view Mr. Atta Akyea dismissed.

In an interview with Chief Jerry Forson on Accra100.5FM on Ghana Yensom on Thursday July 28, the legislator said the comments of the convicted persons were serious and needed to be viewed in that light.

“This matter is no light issue. It is foolhardiness and a manifestation of bad upbringing on the airwaves, the appropriate punishment was what was handed [to them]. So, they deserved what they got.

To him, the blame should be laid firmly at the feet of some high-ranking officials of the NDC, who had set up the station to get at their political opponents, using presenters and panellists as attack dogs

“I blame the cowardly NDC leaders hiding behind Montie FM to malign people and make serious unsubstantiated allegations...” he added. Mr. Zakkour of the NDC has openly stated that he set up the station to counter the work of pro-NPP Oman FM in Accra.

But in the MP’s view, instead of calls for the matter to be swept under the carpet because it involved the NDC, people had to be minded by the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, fanned by reckless radio broadcasts and realise that such unguarded statements could compromise the “sanity of the nation” and “rule of law”.

He urged some supporters of the NDC accusing justices of the Supreme Court of picking on persons sympathetic to the cause of the NDC to stop the “vain propaganda”, “hypocrisy” and “double standards” saying Ghana’s highest court was a “two-edged sword” which was impartial in its punishment of misconduct by either NPP or NDC members who fell afoul of its laws.

He wondered why supporters of the party did not question the court when it ruled in its favour during the 2013 election petition.