The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has underscored the importance of a gradual approach to implementing live coverage of court proceedings.

Speaking on JoyNews PM Express, he stressed the need to balance transparency with respect for procedural mechanisms and fair trials.

Mr Braimah acknowledged the significance of allowing the citizenry to have a comprehensive understanding of events within the governance framework.

However, he cautioned against rushing into live courtroom coverage without establishing procedural safeguards to prevent potential compromises to justice delivery.

“I think any processes that will allow the citizenry to have a full picture of whatever is happening within our governance architecture is an important exercise.

"But what is also important is the procedural mechanism that we have to put in place to ensure that in trying to promote transparency and accountability, we don’t end up compromising the fundamental principles about trials and procedures in our courts,” he said on Wednesday.

Drawing parallels with practices in the United States of America, where several states permit cameras in courtrooms, Mr Braimah highlighted the existence of procedural mechanisms to regulate the conduct of journalists and individuals filming court proceedings.

He cited historical cases, such as those involving O.J. Simpson and others where the presence of cameras raised concerns about fair trial rights.

“in the 1960s, if you read the literature, there was a case in the USA that the judge thought was an important case so allowed cameras into the courtroom to allow the people of America to follow the case and in the end, the Supreme Court upheld an appeal by the convict who said that given the activities of cameramen and how the media was conducting themselves in the courtrooms, it denied him a fair trial,” he narrated.

Over the years, there have been calls for the country’s judiciary to amend its rule which prevents filming in courtrooms.

In 2022, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Godfred Dame proposed a live telecast of all court cases of national importance apart from election petitions.

He believed the move would significantly reduce the circulation of falsehoods bout the judiciary on social media after losing a case.

However, Mr Braimah advocates for a gradual approach to live courtroom coverage.

He stressed the importance of building fundamental pillars to ensure that the processes are not susceptible to abuse and do not compromise justice delivery.

“So I think it is important, but we just can’t jump into it. We need to go through the processes and procedures, it can be gradual.

"As we have started, we can allow cameras for important and high-profile cases and then build the fundamental pillars to ensure that the processes will not be abused and in the end justice delivery will not also be compromised,” he stated.