One Ghana Movement has condemned the recent closure of Oyerepa FM by the Kumasi Traditional Council.
According to the advocacy group, it does not consider the radio commentary involving former presidential candidate Akwasi Addai Odike as defamatory of the chiefs in any way.
One Ghana Movement is of the view that even if the commentary was defamatory, the hastily threatening reaction, without recourse to due process of law, in the purported banishment of a citizen and closure of the media entity is a major violation of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and fundamental human rights.
As a result, the Movement has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to call Nananom to order and direct the Attorney General to give them education against the violation of the rights of citizens.
“We call on the President of the Republic to by himself or through the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice educate and caution chiefs, generally, against conduct in violation of the rights of citizens,” part of a release from One Ghana Movement dated September 4 reads.
It adds, “The place of chiefs in upholding the peace of this country will be lost if they are not constantly guided to respect the constitutional rights of persons and entities and the limitations on their authority within the context of the constructive roles assigned under Ghana’s constitutional order.
“Let us all be reminded that no institution or person is above the law and rights of the citizenry of Ghana.”
Below is a copy of the One Ghana Movement release:
PRESS RELEASE
EDUCATE AND CALL NANANOM TO ORDER
One Ghana Movement condemns in no uncertain terms the recent arbitrary, unconstitutional, and forcible closure of Oyerepa FM and TV stations under the purported authorization of the Kumasi Traditional Council.
We do not in our humble view consider the radio commentary provoking the action as defamatory of the chiefs in any way. Even if the commentary was defamatory, we consider the hastily threatening reaction, without recourse to due process of law, in the purported banishment of a citizen and closure of the media entity as a major violation of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and fundamental human rights.
The actions of the Kumasi Traditional Council do not only expose Mr. Akwasi Addai Odike to the danger of physical harm, but also has chilling implications for citizens’ right to expression and guaranteed press freedom.
One Ghana Movement wishes to draw the attention of our revered chiefs to the fact that only the Republic as constituted by law has power, through due process in a court of competent jurisdiction, to hand out sanctions of a criminal nature to people.
Both the national Constitution and the Chieftaincy Act of 2018 prohibit chiefs from compelling people to do their bidding on pain of punishment in the form of a criminal sentence. In fact, the Supreme Court was unequivocal about this in its judgment in 2011 in the case of Nana Adjei Ampofo versus The Attorney-General in which it declared as an affront to the freedom of movement and unconstitutional section 63(d) of the Chieftaincy Act which made disobedience of a summons by a chief a criminal offence.
We are again, reminded of the fact that Ghana abolished criminal and seditious libel in 2001. And even though we do not approve of section 63(c) of the same law criminalizing and punishing what it terms intentional use of disrespectful or insulting language or insulting by word or conduct of a chief by a fine of up GHC2,400.00 and/or a sentence of up to three months imprisonment, this remains an option for chiefs or a civil action.
There will be chaos if Government looked on while every chief infringed the Constitution and national laws to assert tradition and custom to purport to sanction people in their communities in Ghana.
The One Ghana Movement, while reiterating the eminent place of chieftaincy in the history and governance architecture of our country, decries the illegal overreach on the part of an institution whose traditional and constitutional mandate is to be the custodians of the heritage of the people. We accordingly find it ironic that while the allegations made against Nananom may have rubbed the institution the wrong way, they have not found it even more crucial to investigate the truth behind allegations made against individuals within their ranks promoting illegal mining within their jurisdictions. We particularly find Nananom’s failure to deal with the wanton pollution of water bodies and destruction of forest cover intergenerationally inherited by them disgraceful and a breach of the public trust reposed in them. We call all Nananom to channel their efforts and influence at stopping and punishing illegal mining activities and not whistleblowers.
We further call to mind the rather lame intervention of the National Media Commission which is constitutionally tasked with the mandate of protecting journalists and media houses against egregious abuses of their rights.
We call on the President of the Republic to by himself or through the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice educate and caution chiefs, generally, against conduct in violation of the rights of citizens. The place of chiefs in upholding the peace of this country will be lost if they are not constantly guided to respect the constitutional rights of persons and entities and the limitations on their authority within the context of the constructive roles assigned under Ghana’s constitutional order.
Let us all be reminded that no institution or person is above the law and rights of the citizenry of Ghana.
Signed
OneGhana Movement
(4th September 2022)
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