The ousted General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), Napoleon Kpoh has been handed a one-month jail sentence for contempt of court.

The Fast Track High Court had upheld the decision of the Executives of the ICU to remove Kpoh from office and asked him to vacate his office in three days, however he failed to comply with the order, insisting that he had appealed against the court's decision and was holding office pending the determination of his appeal.

After the court order, he locked out workers of the ICU when he caused carpenters to bar the doors of the offices of the unionist body, claiming that there was a threat to the safety of the offices because a man in charge of the keys to the place was keeping them.

The Court, presided by Justice Ofori-Atta declared his tenure of office as General Secretary of the ICU as expired, but Kpoh filed a motion to stay the execution of the order, and also appealed against the ruling.

Kpoh had sought the court's decision to reverse his removal from office by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the ICU seeking a declaration that their action was illegal.

Justice Ofori-Atta in sentencing Kpoh on Monday, acknowledged his stay of execution and appeal, however he ruled that the processes did not give him any right to continue in office; issuing letters to departmental heads and granting radio interviews all in the name of the very office he was barred from leading.

His sentence was therefore to serve as a deterrent to leaders who intended to breach the law.