NDC critics don’t understand English - Okudzeto

The former president of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mr. Sam Okudzeto, has slammed critics in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) saying his comment that President John Mahama would be planning his own funeral if he grants pardon to the Montie three has been clearly misunderstood.

Mr. Okudzeto Monday warned the president against pardoning the jailed Montie three, Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase alias ‘Mugabe’ saying President Mahama’s compliance to the pardon calls will mark his own funeral.

The NDC in a statement described the comments by Mr. Okudzeto, as baseless and a threat on the life of President John Mahama.

The statement signed by the party's General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah Tuesday stated that “…the NDC considers this statement from Mr. Okudzeto not only as a threat to President Mahama’s life but also, a danger to the very foundation of the country’s Constitution, the people, and democracy, especially when such baseless and dangerous pronouncement is coming from a supposed seasoned and experienced legal practitioner of no mean repute.”

But clarifying his comments, Mr. Okudzeto said the interpretation of his remarks showed members of the NDC lacked proficiency in the English language.

“This morning, I was surprised I saw on Metro TV, somebody was there saying I was threatening the president, which means that even English language, the simple language that we all speak, people don’t even know the language. To say that if somebody says when you do that it’s your own funeral, it means that you yourself you bear the consequences of it, that is simple English. …If you don’t know the language, ask somebody else, I’m sure they will explain it to you,” Mr. Okudzeto told Class News in an interview.

He added: “They are all running to sign a petition, I suppose they want to bring pressure on the president to go and act, well, that’s their own business, so far as I am concerned, what the court has done, nobody can flout the court to say that it does not have the power to convict for contempt because that is enshrined in the constitution and it was put there in order to protect the judges, to protect the institution.

“If none of us is prepared to respect the highest court of the land or just the courts in the administration of justice, it means that all of us will take the law into our own hands. I think law is meant to bring order and decorum to society. All of us should inculcate that into our heads and begin to appreciate and respect laws.”