By E. A. Boateng 

The Chief Justice, Mr Justice E. Akufo-Addo, presiding over an Accra High Court imposed a fine of N¢100 on the Editor of “Legon Observer”, Mr E. Yaw Twumasi, for contempt of court. 

The Chief Justice also ordered the 28 publishers of “Legon Observer”, a fortnightly  magazine published by the Legon Society on the National Affairs(a group of Ghana University lecturers)  to pay the N¢100 costs to the Attorney-General.

Printers of the journal. “The Liberty Press”, were exonerated. The publishers, printers, and the Editor of the magazine were charged with contempt  of court for a comment in the magazine on an appeal case before the Appeal Court.

They changed their original plea of not guilty to guilty after an unsuccessful attempt to fight the case on the ground that the High Court had no jurisdiction to hear the contempt case.

The Chief Justice said in his judgment that the Judiciary had no claim to be above criticism, but it would not allow “criticisms from irresponsible and romantic press.” 

The press, he stated, should realise and appreciate the fact that under the law “there is nothing as freedom of the press.” 

The Chief Justice contended that by publishing the article captioned “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied,” “Legon Observer” committed “a most blatant form of contempt.”

He agreed with the Attorney General’s contention that the article “contains all types of contempt.”