General News of Tuesday, 2 April 2013

Source: Peace FM

Supreme Court can work without live telecast – Ben Ephson

Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper, Ben Ephson Jnr., has scoffed at calls to televise the NPP’s petition filed at the Supreme Court challenging the legitimacy of President Mahama, declaring that such an agenda was like "using basket to fetch water".

He explained that if the Supreme Court is to listen to pleas from splinter groups to have an open sitting, others might come up with weird proposals such as calling on the court to operate from the Accra Sports Stadium for many to witness the event.

Mr. Ephson argued that those pushing for an open session now have been unfair to the Supreme Court since both parties involved in the case have pledged their allegiance to respect the final verdict of the court.

“I don’t see their argument. If we have all agreed that when the Supreme Court gives their verdict we would all respect it, and they have decided that they won’t screen it (proceedings), and you are going back…this is only a minute path,” he said.

Mr. Ephson was of the opinion that the vital ingredient needed, was for both parties to produce indisputable evidence before the court rather than activists calling for proceedings of the court case to be televised live.

In an interview on Radio Gold, Mr. Ephson maintained that “…televising it, if you don’t have the evidence, you don’t have it. If your evidence is flawed, the live telecast would not reignite flawed evidence or bring credibility to it…it is like using basket to fetch water”.