Montie FM apologises to CJ, other judges

The management of Montie FM, an Accra-based radio station, has rendered an apology to the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, and justices of the Supreme Court for allowing two panellists to use its platform to attack judges.

A statement signed by its General Manager, Mr Mutala Mohammed, and issued in Accra on Wednesday said: “The management condemns absolutely the said statements which it considers regrettable and dissociates itself from those statements.”

It said the management of the station would not condone any actions that would in any way undermine the administration of justice in the country or allow the actions of its panellists to compromise the safety and security of the Judiciary.

Background

Two political commentators who allegedly threatened the lives of judges of the superior court are in hot water, as the Supreme Court last Tuesday summoned them to appear before it.

Apart from the two, the court also summoned the owner of Montie FM, where the alleged comments were made, and the host of the programme on which the comments were made.

“The persons to be summoned are the owner of Montie FM, the host of the programme by name Salifu Mase, alias Mugabe, and the panellists, Alistair Tairo Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn,” the court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Wood, ordered. 

The comments by the two have been widely condemned by majority of Ghanaians, including the Ghana Bar Association and civil society organisations.

Alistair Nelson has, since the programme, issued a public apology over his comments, while Ako Gunn has denied making any statement attacking justices, since he was not a part of that programme and could be a case of mistaken identity.

Law-abiding

According to the statement, the management of Montie FM would ensure that in future panellists who appeared on the programme “are circumspect in their diction to avoid a repeat of the regrettable occurrences”.

“We will continue to operate as a law-abiding corporate citizen of Ghana and will not condone any action that will tend to undermine the administration of justice in the country that we all love so much,” it said.

As a sign of its disapproval of the conduct of the panellists, the statement said, the management had decided to ban them from appearing on all programmes until further notice.

“Management has initiated the necessary disciplinary proceedings against the host and the producer of the programme,” it added.