TALKING DRUM: Montie 3, NDC’s free speech & a Man called ‘Ntensere’

By Solomon Mensah

"Talking Drum" is a column published on www.3news.com on Fridays

On Wednesday, July 27 2016 at the headquarters of the National Democratic Congress at Adabraka in Accra, some supporters of the party had thronged.

Standing either akimbo or with their arms folded on their chests at the forecourt of the premises, they demanded nothing but one thing. That President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC executives should fight for the freeing of the three persons involved in the Montie FM’s said unsavory comments against the Supreme Court judges.

The three sentenced, radio host Salifu Maase alias Mugabe and his panelists Godwin Ako Gunn and Alistair Nelson were said to have made a life-threatening statements against judges who ordered for the deletion of over 56, 000 ‘illegal’ names from the voters’ register. For being cited for contempt by the Supreme Court, the three after days of trial were each sentenced to four months in prison on that faithful Wednesday. They are, in addition, to pay GHC10, 000 default of which they will serve one month more in prison.

This, these supporters of the ruling NDC deem it too hash a punishment for their colleagues. 

“Massa, all that we are saying is that ‘No Mugabe and Co, no vote,’” some of the angry supporters told me in an interview.

On that Wednesday evening I interviewed Communications Director of the NDC, Solomon Nkansah on 3FM. He said: “We [NDC] aren’t the judiciary but what we can say is that there are a lot of schools of thought and experienced people in the law and they are also calling on persons who … I understand other people should go for review. I am not part of their lawyers but I do believe that the right will be done. 

"I want to use your medium to convey my messages of hope and assurance to the teeming NDC supporters that the NDC party will not turn its back on these three young men. We will do everything to give them the needed support.”

As if the party supporters were not convinced by Mr. Nkansah’s assurance, they picketed again at the party’s headquarters on the following day. When I got there at 10:27am the “freedom fighters” stood wearing red and black apparel yet humming the same chorus; “No Mugabe and Co, no vote.’”  

Angrily waiting for party officials to talk to them the National Chairman of the NDC, Dr. Kofi Porturphy, popped up. He stood face to face with the supporters with just the giant metallic gate of the office’s main entrance separating them. Before Dr. Porturphy would speak, he ordered all journalists out of their meeting. Yes! He had a secret to share with the supporters. 

After about seven minutes, the supporters who were earlier fuming with anger were now cheering up their National Chairman. When I drew near some of these supporters I was told that Dr. Porturphy had told them the President John Dramani Mahama has heard their cry and that “he [the president] will surely do something about the situation.”

It is disheartening to know that the NDC is basing its argument on “free speech” in calling on President Mahama to exercise his constitutional powers to free the Montie 3.

Aside Mr. Solomon Nkansah who had told me, as part of my interview with him, that the sentencing of the Montie 3 curtails free speech, I have as well read and heard some other party officials saying same. 

In their petition to the president to invoke such constitutional powers under Article 72 of the Constitution of Ghana, solicitors Ato Dadzie and George Loh wrote that they accept the decision by the Supreme Court. However, they added that they “do not believe that citizens of Ghana ought to be committed to prison for infractions on free expression especially in light of the repeal of the criminal libel law.”

How do we understand free speech? Does free speech mean one could let derogatory words freely leave their mouths as droplets of milk freely leave a lactating mother’s breasts?

Early this year, working as a freelancer, I wrote a piece on Radio Ghana’s News Commentary segment of its news bulletin. It was about France’s satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo who had had some of its staff killed including the editor by some aggrieved persons. Their crime? Charlie Hebdo had consistently drew irreverent cartoons of Prophet Muhammad that which the killers deemed it an affront on their religion.

When the Charlie Hebdo’s sad news broke, the world saw prominent personalities calling the ‘barbaric act’ as a threat to free speech. Freedom of speech [and for that matter freedom of the media] does not in any way mean that one’s speech should be a threat or ridicule to another man’s peace.

Do we call a threat to kill some judges as a freedom of speech? Only in Ghana! Whereas the NDC’s call for a lesser punishment for the Montie 3 maybe somewhat reasonable, I think freeing them entirely would give the rest of Ghanaians derogatory license in our media discourse. What do you think?

On social media and on other platforms, some people are in a way jubilating over the Montie 3’s imprisonment. I am not, however, surprised. Are you? In this country, everything boils down to NPP or NDC. But we must not forget the nickname ‘Ntensere’ of Michael Boateng Amanfo’s character Kofi Bεyεεdεn, in his book Sε Ɛbεwie.

Sticking to Kofi Bεyεεdεn’s nickname without going into details of the book, it is advisable we desist from rejoicing over someone’s mistake for tomorrow may be our turn. 

What I think we ought to do is to learn from the Montie 3’s mistakes. In my article on the Charlie Hebdo’s stupidity, I offered one advice in a form of a proverb to other media persons and to those who have access to such platforms.

That, “a child whose father received bullet in the head,” the Igbos of Nigeria say, “uses an iron pot as a helmet.”

The writer is a broadcast journalist with 3FM 92.7. Views expressed here remain solely his opinion and not that of his media organization.

Email: nehusthan4@yahoo.com

Twitter: @Aniwaba