Lecturer at the University of Ghana and member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte has rendered an apology to the nation’s highest judicial body for describing it as “a stupid court.”
The apology comes after Supreme Court ordered the NDC member to explain why he should not be held in contempt for describing the Court in such a manner.
His description on Supreme Court was after James Gyakye Quayson, a member of the NDC, was ordered by the Court to have his name removed from Parliament’s records due to irregularities during his nomination and election in 2020.
In his latest apology, Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte noted that “the tweet was not done with the intent to scandalize or denigrate a revered institution such as the Supreme Court of Ghana for which I have a 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.”
He added, “Please permit me to state unequivocally that I have no reason to slander our Supreme Court, and I hereby sincerely apologize 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.”
Read below full apology
APOLOGY AND RETRACTION
I sent out a tweet on May 19, 2023, at 9:59 am, that shared my reflections on insights from a book by David A. Kaplan (2018) The Most Dangerous Branch: Inside the Supreme Court’s Assault on the Constitution, and recent attempts by some Democrats in the US to increase the number of Justices at the Apex Court from nine to thirteen.
I have observed that Ghanaweb and other media publications sought to associate my tweet with the decision of the Supreme Court in the Assin North matter as stated on the face of the Summons to show cause, but 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.
The said tweet has resulted in the invocation of the powers of the Apex Court in our country for me to appear and show cause, because the tweet has scandalized the Apex Court of our land and has brought the dignity of the court into disrepute.
Sincerely, the tweet was not done with the intent to scandalize or denigrate a revered institution such as the Supreme Court of Ghana for which I have a 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.
Please permit me to state unequivocally that I have no reason to slander our Supreme Court, and I hereby sincerely apologize 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.
Thank you.
