According to Accra-based Citi FM, the Supreme Court of Ghana has summoned Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, a failed parliamentary aspirant for Shai-Osu Doku from the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), to defend himself against potential contempt charges.
This summons comes in response to a recent tweet by Dr. Kpessa-Whyte, where he referred to the court as “stupid.”
Dr. Kpessa-Whyte, a Research Fellow with the History and Politics Section at the Institute of African Studies (IAS), posted the tweet following the Supreme Court’s ruling that declared the election of Mr. James Gyakye Quayson of the Assin North constituency unconstitutional.
The controversial tweet was shared on Friday, 19th May 2023 as follows: “They have succeeded in turning a Supreme Court into a Stupid Court. Commonsense is now a scare 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. Time will tell !”
A few days later, the academic and politician took to Twitter again to address the responses he had received regarding his previous tweet, which seemed to connect it to the Ghanaian judiciary.
In his initial clarification tweet, he stated: “Thanks to all who have asked questions about my May 19th 2023 tweet. For the avoidance of doubt I follow judicial decisions in many countries and so the said tweet cannot be pinned to Ghana. It has more to with developments elsewhere including the US. We live in a global village.”
“Folks, a number of you have called to express concerns about my safety following my recent tweets. I want to make it clear that NONE of my recent tweets about judicial decisions are in reference to Ghana’s judiciary. My focus currently is on developments elsewhere outside Ghana,” he further stated.
