A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, has rendered an apology to the Supreme Court over a tweet that portrayed the apex court as “stupid”.
According to the failed parliamentary candidate aspirant of the NDC, he did not intend to denigrate the Supreme Court as interpreted by the public.
Dr. Kpessa-Whyte’s apology comes after being summoned by the apex court to appear before it and show why he should not be held in contempt after describing the court as a ‘stupid court.’
On the back of the Supreme Court’s declaration of the election of James Gyakye Quayson of the Assin North constituency, as unconstitutional, the NDC member tweeted “They have succeeded in turning a Supreme Court into a Stupid Court. Commonsense is now a scarce commodity.
“A major element in the death of democracies is partisanship in the delivery of justice. Our judges need lessons in political philosophy and ethics,” the tweet added.
However, the Research Fellow with the History and Politics Section at the Institute of African Studies (IAS) in a statement asked for forgiveness for his actions.
He emphasised that “honestly, at the time of my tweet, I had no knowledge of the Supreme Court’s decision as at 9: 59am when I did the tweet.”
He continued “Sincerely, the tweet was not done with the intent to scandalise or denigrate a revered institution such as the Supreme Court of Ghana for which I have tremendous amount of respect and admiration.
“These are consequences I never intended, although I do accept responsibility that, I could have exercised better judgment in my choice of words,” the statement stated.
Explaining why he should not be cited for contempt of court, the failed parliamentary aspirant of the Shai Osudoku constituency in the Greater Accra region said; “Please permit me to state unequivocally that I have no reason to slander our Supreme Court, and I hereby sincerely apologise 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,” Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte added.
