[ 2016-08-25 ]

Montie 3 pardon could be reviewed at Supreme Court – Ace Ankomah
Private Legal Practitioner, Ace Anan Ankomah, has
indicated that President John Mahama’s decision
to grant remission to the Montie trio, could be
challenged by an application for review at the
Supreme Court.

According to him, President Mahama’s use of his
prerogative of mercy in this case has presented a
legal opportunity for clarity on the exercise of
the Article 72 powers granted by the constitution.


Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of a
lecture organised by the Forum on Media and
Democratic Governance, Ace Ankomah explained that
the exercise of the President’s Article 72
powers had to be tested “against the standard
for the exercise of all constitutional donated
powers. The exercise must be fair, it must be
exercised in a candid manner, it must not be
capricious, arbitrary or based on bias.”

“Every power that is donated by the constitution
is not absolute and that if the test under the
constitution is not met, the court then has the
power to do a judicial review of it,” the legal
practitioner added.

Ace Ankomah noted further that Article 2 of the
constitution allows the Apex court to review such
decisions as such reviews had happened “so many
times in our law. The question is if this is a
proper case for the Supreme Court to exercise its
review power.”

The Montie 3 pardon

President Mahama on Monday granted remission to
the incarcerated three after consultation with the
Council of State.

The three; Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and
Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, had been sentenced to
serve four months in jail and paid a fine of
GHc10,000 each after threatening the lives of
judges on a live radio programme.

Mr. Osei-Owusu, also a lawyer, acknowledged
President Mahama had every right to exercise his
prerogative of mercy per the constitution, but in
this particular instance, he insisted that the
President had not acted in the interest of the
state.

Debate over pardon needless – NDC

The General Secretary of the National Democratic
Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has said
however said any debate over the pardoning of the
Montie 3 is needless and misplaced as “the
President has acted within the remit of his
powers.”

He indicated argued that President Mahama “under
Article 72 has been given that power and all
Presidents in Ghana have had occasion to exercise
it. It is called a prerogative of mercy.”

Mr. Asiedu Nketia also held that, the President
needn’t provide justification of his decision to
pardon the Montie 3, despite the criticisms coming
from political parties and the general public.

Source - citifmonline.com

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