Professor Michael Kpessa-Whyte, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, was found guilty based on his own admission and is currently waiting for sentencing on the contempt charges brought against him.
The former candidate for Shai Osudoku’s seat in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), came before a five-member Supreme Court panel presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu and entered a plea of guilty to the allegations.
Following a tweet that the court deemed offensive, Prof. Kpessah Whyte was charged with contempt.
Under the leadership of Justice Srem-Sai and Godwin Tamakloe, the defendant begged the court to temper justice with kindness because he had already apologized for his comment.
After hearing the defense attorneys for Professor Kpessah Whyte’s mitigating prayer, the bench is now debating what punishment to impose.
Background
Prof. Kpessa-Whyte in a recent Twitter post referred to the Supreme Court as a “Stupid Court”. He also criticized the current state of Ghana’s judiciary, accusing it of partisanship and lacking common sense.
Dr. Kpessa-Whyte’s tweets came shortly after the Supreme Court ordered Parliament to remove the name of NDC MP James Gyakye Quayson from its records due to procedural breaches during his nomination and election in 2020.
The Supreme Court summoned Dr. Kpessa-Whyte to explain why he should not be held in contempt for describing the nation’s highest judicial body in such a manner.
He subsequently issued an apology for allegedly denigrating the Supreme Court.
In a statement, Dr. Kpessa-Whyte clarified that he did not intend to denigrate the Supreme Court and offered his unreserved apology.
He stated that he had no reason to slander the court and acknowledged any pain or discomfort his tweets may have caused the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court, and the entire judiciary.
“Please permit me to state unequivocally that I have no reason to slander our Supreme Court, and I hereby sincerely apologize unreservedly for any pain and discomfort my tweets may have caused the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court, and the entire judiciary.
“I hereby retract the tweet in question; accordingly, the tweet has been deleted completely, and I pray for forgiveness.”
Source: Citinewsroom
