Hm. As for this week dier…

The amount of media attention the Montie contempt case has attracted is phenomenal. Virtually every newspaper has carried something every day this week. The whole nation has been abuzz with conversations about reactions to the sentencing.

We managed t lay our hands on the written judgement long before it was made public, and we spent a great deal of time analysing it and gleaning every possible drop of understanding from it. Samson Lardy Anyenini was in the studio to help with that.

Several things  became clear to us about the thinking behind the Supreme Court Judges' decisions in this contempt case. First, this was a case of criminal contempt. This is important because it then clarifies the sentencing guidelines, defining the maximum sentence here as 3 years. For those who considered the 4-month sentence to be too harsh, this information gives them something new to think about.

Also, the judges observed that modern media network owners seem to have forgotten their role in ensuring that their platforms are used to elevate the social conscience. They were not amused by the fact that the Montie directors and frequency owner claimed not to have even heard the contemptuous broadcast until it was played to them during the proceedings. As for the three who participated in the broadcasts, the Judges actually intended for their custodial sentence to be a deterrent to other journalists, who they considered to be increasingly overstepping the bounds of free speech. They said the relatively lenient sentences meted out in previous cases had not been deterrent enough, hence the current situation

They didn't leave out the attorney general either. They reckoned that there was a criminal aspect of the contemnors' utterances that the Attorney General "ought to be alive to". The Attorney General's office is yet to indicate whether they are alive or dead to this indicated criminality.

All in all, the Supreme Court considered the offences of the contemnors to be serious. Threatening rape and death to judges on the eve of Martyr's day was an act they considered to be grievous. And after considering the pleas and apologies of the accused and their lawyers, they settled on the now famous four-month custodial sentences that have divided the opinions of the nation.

And you know our nation. It seems the only way we know how to divide opinions is along partisan lines. The reactions to the sentences have been exactly that. A petition has been sent to the President, asking him to activate his power to grant pardons to the Montie 3, and free them. Many have signed this petition, and I don't know about you, but I can't identify a single signatory to the petition who is not an NDC supporter or government official.

Not to be left out, another group started a petition to ask the President NOT to grant the Montie 3 a pardon (interesting idea, a petition asking someone to do… nothing). Again, many have signed the petition, and again, I don't know about you, but I can't identify a single signatory to the petition who is not an opposition member, supporter or sympathiser.

And then there is the movement on social media to support the Chief Justice and condemn the threats of rape and  death that were made against her by the Montie 3. This movement is mainly concerned with protesting the continued abuse of women in society. Women like the Chief Justice. Our mothers, our grandmothers, our sisters… you get the picture.

Of course, there are those who criticise such a campaign. They wonder where these campaigners were when the EC Chair, Charlotte Osei, was accused by Kennedy Agyapong of sleeping her way into her job. Indeed, there were many, including Ace Ankomah and Nana Oye Lithur -who spoke out against Kennedy Agyapong's comments, but in classic divisive Ghanaian style, those who spoke up for Charlotte Osei seem to be a totally different group of people from those who spoke up for the Chief Justice. Fishy, isn't it?

Interestingly, many government appointees - ministers and deputy ministers - all lined up to sign the petition to free the Montie 3. Among them was Nana Oye Lithur, a very loud voice condemning the abuse of Charlotte Osei and women like her. It just makes you wonder if she  considers the Chief Justice to be a woman like Charlotte Osei. It's a question I plan to ask her when we meet. But I do have two questions I want to ask right now, though.

First…so all those ministers who queued up to sign the petition to free the contemnors… were they not worried that the President might not appreciate the pressure such a petition might put on him? How did they feel brave and confident enough to line up and sign this petition without any fear of incurring the President's displeasure? Was it because they knew for a fact that they would not incur his displeasure? Just asking…

Second… so all those calling for support of the Chief Justice: why are you making this call now? Why not when the comments were first made by the Montie 3? Why now, that they are safely behind bars and completely out of raping distance of any women? If the campaign is to condemn threats of rape and violence against women, why campaign now, AFTER these people's threats have been punished by the supreme court. Why campaign for something that the system has proved itself more than capable of handling? Just asking…

Anyway, there were other events this week. The NDC held a press conference to ask the NPP to make up their minds what they want in life, and there appear to be plans to hand over one of our power generating plants to the private company, Ameri. Why? I ken't tink far.

My name is Kojo Yankson, and this week dier… so-so Supreme Court soor…

GOOD MORNING, GHANAFO.

GOOD MORNING, GHANAFO