Montie 3 are first time offenders, custodial sentence would crush them - lawyer

Member of legal team of the Montie 3, Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe has pleaded the case of his clients noting the three, having been convicted of being in contempt of the Supreme Court already carry a sword around their necks since thy have been disabled for life regarding job search and travelling arrangements.

Mr Tamakloe stressed the conviction is enough punishment for the contemnors and the owners of the frequency adding custodial sentence would crush the contemnors since they are first time offenders.

He further rendered an apology to the lord justices especially Justice Sulley Gbadegbe whose name was cited by the contemnors.

“My clients are terribly remorseful for their deed especially Alistair who after the unguarded statement rendered an unqualified apology and made a retraction.”

It is by realizing the gravity of their loose talk that counsel sought for the contemnors’ speeches not to even be played in court or ever published, the young lawyer submitted to Samson Lardy Ayenini on Saturday’s Newsfile show.

According to Edudzi Tamakloe who together with George Loh are representing the contemnors, his clients essentially have not had any brush with the law till now, making them first time offenders.

The young lawyer who is carving a niche for himself as one to have to ward off trouble and one to have when trouble arrives has already represented Zanetor Rawlings, is keen to keep Alistair Tairo Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase a.k.a. Mugabe from prison.

When host Samson Lardy Ayenini asked what frame of mind his clients were in, the persuasive lawyer submitted “since the incident, the pressure on families has been enormous. They honour BNI invitations twice every week. There is no need for imprisonment, they have suffered enough” he summarized.

Mugabe stands accused of aiding the two NDC activists who threatened to kill the Supreme Court judges on a live radio programme called ‘Pampaso’ over issues involving the Electoral Commission EC on July 5.

The three persons are to be sentenced on July 27 after the Court found them guilty of contempt. They first appeared in court on Tuesday, July 12, then on Monday, July 18 where the owners of the radio station were also in attendance.

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