I’m sorry – Kpessa-Whyte apologises for ‘insulting’ Supreme Court

A former NDC parliamentary hopeful and lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, has issued an apology for allegedly denigrating the Supreme Court.

Following a recent Twitter post where he referred to the Supreme Court as a “Stupid Court,” Dr. Kpessa-Whyte has expressed remorse for his remarks.

In his tweet, he also criticized the current state of Ghana’s judiciary, accusing it of partisanship and lacking common sense.

Dr. Kpessa-Whyte’s tweets came shortly after the Supreme Court ordered Parliament to remove the name of NDC MP James Gyakye Quayson from its records due to procedural breaches during his nomination and election in 2020.

The Supreme Court summoned Dr. Kpessa-Whyte to explain why he should not be held in contempt for describing the nation’s highest judicial body in such a manner.

In a statement, Dr. Kpessa-Whyte clarified that he did not intend to denigrate the Supreme Court and offered his unreserved apology.

He stated that he had no reason to slander the court and acknowledged any pain or discomfort his tweets may have caused the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court, and the entire judiciary.

“Please permit me to state unequivocally that I have no reason to slander our Supreme Court, and I hereby sincerely apologise 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.”

Attached is the full statement by Michael Kpessa-Whyte

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.