We can bite – Atuguba warns

The President of the nine-member Bench hearing the election petition has warned that the Supreme Court will “bite” if necessary, by invoking its powers to sanction contemptuous persons.

Justice William Atuguba served the warning when he, on behalf of the Bench, admonished Deputy Communications Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Sammy Awuku for describing the Court as “hypocritical and selective”.

The Court, however, exercised leniency with Mr. Awuku but barred him from ever attending the Court proceedings of the election petition case.

“…We have considered the candid admission of Mr. Sammy Awuku’s utterances on Peace FM on the 25th day of June 2013 in reaction to the final warning of the Court with regard to improper reportage and the previous warnings of this court concerning contemptuous comments, utterance and attitudes towards this apex court of Ghana, issued just on the 24th day of June 2013. He has apologised and withdrawn the same before this Court and has further undertaken to repeat the retraction by 6pm today”, Mr. Atuguba said.

He nonetheless said the Bench has “noted with great concern, the steady decline of respect for the authority of the Judiciary - the third arm of Government of this country - over the past years”.

Mr. Atuguba said the “pompous show of private power in the pursuit of the right to engage in political organisations and activity by which the passions and humble members of society are stirred up on deliberately false political propaganda, is a recipe for chaos and conflict in this country”.

He added that: “…We have seen the Kenyan precedent in this context and much as we are concerned not to exercise our undoubted powers as a Court of law with iron fists, we cannot allow the emergence of over-mighty subjects in this country as we said on the 24th day of June 2013; however, to in order to show that we mean well for this country with regard to the exercise of our awesome powers, we have decided to stop short of invoking our powers of contempt and we invoke in the alternative, our power to control the attendance of our proceedings of the public Court by members of the public”.

“…We think that the exclusion of Mr. Sammy Awuku from attending the proceedings of this Court for the rest of the duration of this case should suffice for a start in this direction”, Justice Atuguba averred.

He also warned that those who may mistake the Court’s decision with regard to Mr. Awuku as evidence that: “We only bark, but we don’t bite”, will end up laughing on the wrong side of their mouths.

“…After this step, others who apply to come here will have it differently”, he stressed.