Mahama can take advantage of Montie 3's plight – Lecturer

President John Dramani Mahama can use the imprisonment of the Montie FM contemnors to propel his political ambitions, Dr Edward Brenya, a political scientist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has suggested.

According to Dr Brenya, the president can choose to ignore calls from party members and supporters who are pleading with him to exercise his prerogative of mercy to free the trio.

Dr Brenya said by so doing, Mr Mahama can convince Ghanaians that he respects the rule of law and independence of the judiciary. According to Dr Brenya, the president can use that move to draw both National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters and floating voters to his side for his electoral benefit in the December 7 polls.

“The president can make political capital of what is going on right now. The president could openly use this as basis to tell Ghanaians that he is someone who respects the rule of law…” Dr Brenya explained in an interview with Prince Minkah on Class FM's Executive Breakfast Show on Monday August 1.

Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn, and Salifu Maase, aka Mugabe, who have become known as the ‘Montie 3’ were handed a four-month jail term by the Supreme Court for contempt on Wednesday July 27. They threatened the lives of judges on Accra-based radio station Montie FM.

The presidency has been inundated with several calls from both executives and supporters of the governing NDC as well as ministers and appointees of the presidency, for a presidential pardon for the three, since, in their view, the sentence was “harsh”.

The pressure on the president to free the three has resulted in the formation of the Freemontie3now Movement, as well as the organisation of a night vigil, and the opening of a petition book to collect one million signatures in favour of the pardon.