Renowned Ghanaian legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw has censured Lawyers of former President John Dramani Mahama for filing an application at the Supreme Court asking the apex court to hold on with the hearing of the ongoing election petition.
He has said that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) legal team is deliberately practicing what he has called ‘legal propaganda’ to delay court proceedings hence the decision to file motions every day.
He is livid at the conduct of Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, leader of the NDC legal team since the inception of the court proceedings stressing that Mr. Tsatu’s behavior is a smart way of conciliating NDC supporters.
The legal practitioner reiterated that it is a calculated attempt by the NDC to run down the Apex court and prove to the general public that the Apex court isn’t going to be fair to the party.
Maurice Ampaw disclosed this when speaking in an interview on Yen Sempa morning show on Onua FM on Friday 22 January 2020 maintaining that the NDC legal team could file 1000 motions a day it would not change the Apex Court decision to rule the case in 42 days.
He reiterated that the NDC legal team is only playing a tactic to prolong the case and thus prayed that the 7 member panel of judges at the Supreme Court would hold their heart so that they won’t act emotionally based on the conduct of the NDC legal team.
He however indicated that the NDC lead council is only kicking against a Constitutional Instrument (CI) 99, a reform spearheaded by Madam Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, former attorney general in the else while Mahama administration after the 2012 election petition.
CI 99 according to Maurice Ampaw compels the Apex Court to henceforth use only 42 days to sit on any election petition instead of using 8 months to 1 year period.
“Anyone who is objectively following the election petition could see that rights from the word go, former President John Mahama lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata have decided to disrespect the Supreme Court judges, because he has been disregarding every advice given by the court”.
The court from day one told Tsatsu Tsikata that the procedure the Court could use to sit on the election petition is time bound which compels the court to avoid delays like unnecessary adjournment, needless motions and applications that could prolong the case he reiterated.
Maurice Ampaw quizzed how come the NDC legal team could dare file a motion to stop the Supreme Court Judges who have the constitutional mandate under article 64 of the 1992 constitution from sitting on the case.
He indicated that in his 20 years at the bar he has never seen a petitioner who is rather delaying court proceedings stating that Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata is only practicing legal propaganda to prove to NDC supporters that the court is not ready to listen to them for a fair trial.
By Maxwell Otoo 3news.com/Ghana
The post Election Petition: Mahama’s lawyers engaged in ‘legal propaganda’ – Ampaw appeared first on 3news.
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