8 January 2009
editorial
The 1992 Constitution grants to the President such awesome powers as to literally determine whether a person lives or dies. That, without doubt, caps the range of enormous powers granted him by Article 72 (1) to a President.
It is traditional for a President to exercise those powers on joyous occasions like Christmas or at the end of his term, as is the case with ex-President Kufuor's, but it is usually viewed by the public, and monitored by various interest groups, to determine whether there is an agenda. Of course, it is widely known that ex-President Kufuor is gifted with a brain of an elephant; (no pun intended), but has the capacity to remember most things, and can pick one's name from a crowd, even if that encounter was ten years ago, particularly at a rally.
The beneficiaries of the state pardon, announced by the Chief of Staff and his deputy Information Minister, came as a bombshell to most people, and was equally received with mixed reactions.
The rash of names that benefited from Kufuor's final act of pardon could generate controversies and interest for some time to come. It is normal and is common fare in other jurisdictions. In the US, which is where we normally look up to, Presidential pardons have always generated interest and sometimes, controversies. Of course, clemencies only underscore the larger problem - the systemic injustice caused by mandatory minimum sentences that fill the prisons with low-level offenders in the first place. With the James Fort and Usher Fort prisons now put of commission by the Kufuor administration, the option of minor offenders being banged up in prisons should immediately be reviewed by the Mills administration in favour of supervised work. It is one provision that is not in our criminal justice system, but which The Chronicle strongly recommends to the Mills administration to consider.
In the United States, when noted fugitive financier Marc Rich was pardoned by Bill Clinton, it touched off a whole controversy, because of his relation with Bill.
In the case of Ghana, under now former President Kufuor, the speculation is that he is granting these flurry of clemencies in exchange for tickets to ride from the Mills administration's well-oiled soldiers' vengeance brigade. It is well known that President Kufuor has made a very public admission of guilt over the last eight years, and apologised for them. Without being specific, the President's apology could be taken for the Ya-Na's murder, or for the torture to death of the Convention People's Party's (CPP's) Chairman, Issa Mobilla. Or was it for the cock-up of the Francis Poku's infamous MV Benjamin cocaine affair, in which Kofi Boakye starred?
Could the pardon granted Kofi Boakye, result from a certain light going out in Kufuor's brain, about those willful acts of his security men?
PRESIDENT BUSH'S RECORD
Former President Bush, who is about to hand over to President-elect Barack Obama, is on record to have granted 191 pardons and nine commutations, far fewer than Presidents Clinton and Reagan in their two-term administrations. Among the more notable who have applied for some form of clemency are:
- Former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham, Republican from California, who was convicted of receiving bribes.
- Publishing executive Conrad Black, (The British broadsheet The Telegraph is one his most famous titles) who was found guilty of fraud.
- Former junk bold salesman Michael Milken.
- Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, convicted of accounting fraud.
For the sake of clarity and understanding, a commutation reduces a convict's prison term, but the conviction remains on the person's record. A pardon, however, wipes the slate clean by erasing the record of the conviction.
A President has the sole authority to grant clemency and to whom, although the Ministry of Justice, usually reviews applications and makes recommendations, after considering standards such as a person's degree of remorse and ability to lead a responsible and productive life after release.
In Ghana, a prominent high court judge was pardoned after serving his term of imprisonment - nearly three years, at Nsawam. He is no more than 54 years, and the pardon allowed him to return to the bench. That is the redeeming grace of a pardon.
KWAME PIANIM
But the case of Mr. Kwame Pianim, who was charged with treason and did ten years in prison before he was pardoned, is very fresh in our memory. The problem with Pianim's pardon was that he found out in court that the pardon granted him had limitations to the restorative powers. Most constitutions, including ours, still put a bar on one's ability to the high office of President or Vice, as Mr. Pianim found out.
The case of Mr. Tsikata brings the issue to the fore once again. He and his family find the pardon an unnecessary albatross, exactly because Tsikata has always made it clear that he is innocent, and in fact would not countenance any pardon. He believes he is innocent, and the pardon rather disables him from getting real justice in the appellate courts, so that he could get the complete restoration with no limitations whatsoever - no limitations to his ambitions as Mr. Pianim found out.
Certainly, pardoning Kofi Boakye is bound to set off many controversies, and dredge out many things that should have remained in the dark for some time. What did he know? With Francis Poku in self-imposed exile, the question that the public would want to ask is, why was he so much against Patrick Acheampong, the IGP?
As Mills' administration made the issue of drugs their campaign issue, The Chronicle would demand a closure on the MV Benjamin affair, so that we could hopefully shut our doors to drug cartels, which found Ghana a safe haven to operate in.
With Mr. Tsikata's case, The Chronicle, which studied the man more than any other news organisation in Ghana, can vouch for the man's zealousness and passion for his job, but the arrogance of office and impudence of power prevented The AG's office from simply seeking out The Chronicle's information and views, that would certainly have informed the findings and subsequent trial.
It is unfortunate that Mr. Tsikata has endured so much for his country. This paper can say that Mr. Tsikata never personally benefited from office. Though the law under which he was tried does not necessarily exempt people from prosecution, this paper can vouch for Mr. Tsikata's personal integrity, without going into the legal issues since the issue amounts to contempt of court. He was zealot for his work, and the only advantage he may have obtained, was a moral and ethical one - finding a wife on the job, and helping to discover oil for Ghana into the bargain. But the jury is still out on that one, and time will also deliver its judgment in due course, on the other.
On the other hand, Kufuor may have truly been seized by a desire to be merciful, like the poet Buchan said, 'Surely, surely, behind the reign of law and the coercion of power, there was a deep purpose of mercy'.
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