Feature: Questions arising from MUSIGAs intervention in Mzbels wahala

This piece is by no means intended to prejudge Mzbel, let’s allow the law to take its course to pronounce her guilty or otherwise, but it is in the light of MUSIGA’s intervention that these questions are deemed legitimate.

So what is MUSIGA through Mrs. Dinah Hopeson saying? Have they actually considered the implications before coming out with this plea? My question to Mrs. Dinah Hopeson and MUSIGA is; what is the difference between an artist who is in a hurry to go and sing and in the process offends the law and the prostitute who is also in a hurry to go and serve a client (with no intention to be mean) or what is the difference between a musician/artist and the market woman who is selling tomatoes for us to have a good meal or what is the difference between an artist and a taxi driver or what is the difference between an artist and a shoe-shine boy or what is the difference between an artist who is in a hurry to go and sing and a teacher who is also in a hurry to go and teach or a nurse/doctor who is in a hurry to go and attend to patients in a hospital.

What danger does an artist who is late to a programme pose to the economy and lives of people than a doctor/nurse who is late to attend to a patient?

Mrs. Dinah Hopeson please come again. What do you also mean by “You don’t throw away the bathwater with your baby”? Where in our constitution is this proverb enshrined to nullify the effect of our laws? I am sorry to say I find your point very inappropriate and unlearned. If prosecuting and imprisoning an offender is what Mrs. Dinah Hopeson calls throwing away the bathwater with the baby, then she might as well call for the release of all the prisoners in the Nsawam prisons, because they are also babies thrown away with the bathwater. Ei! Aunty Dinah what are you saying? OK! Ataa Ayi is also somebody’s baby thrown away with the bathwater.

My sister your proverb is inapt to this scenario. Afterall, Ataa Ayi as we all knew had a wife and a baby, so the law should temper justice with mercy and not throw him away with the bathwater.

Now it looks like MUSIGA through Mrs. Dinah Hopeson is asking us to replace our criminal code with a simple philosophy of impunity for all Ghanaians, since we are all equal before the law, albeit theoretical.

This is the new law that should be applied to all offenders; “WHEN SOMEBODY BREAKS THE LAW, THE COURTS SHOULD TEMPER JUSTICE WITH MERCY BY NOT THROWING AWAY THE BATHWATER WITH THE BABY” hahahahahahhaha! Or MUSIGA and Mrs. Dinah Hopeson is asking all Ghanaians to join some association of a sort, so that in the event of offending the law your association jumps in to intervene.

Then over to you GPRTU and PROTOA because many of your driver-members are languishing in Nsawam prisons or GNAT might as well take a cue from this, since many of their members are also now doing their teaching in the Nsawam prisons or better still GASSB – ‘Ghana Association of Shoe Shine Boys’ could also have recourse to this ‘new law’ to fight for the release of their members who are currently in police cells or prison for stealing clients’ shoes.

In any case, Mrs. Dinah Hopeson even worsens Mzbel’s case by asking justice to be tempered with mercy, because by that reasoning she agrees that Mzbel has fallen foul of the law and that whatever punishment is being meted out to her is justice taking its course.

Then why ask for mercy for her when equally valuable a human life like hers has faced justice in our law courts or is she better than that taxi driver who is facing justice in prison, or because she sings?

Then the earlier we all become singers/artists and join MUSIGA to be above the law the better for all of us or better still the earlier every Ghanaian joins one professional/trade group or the other the expedient for all of us to have justice tempered with mercy in the event of offending the law.

In this light I ask my association; GOMA – ‘Ghana Okro Mouths Association’ to be ready to make an intervention on my behalf, since I may soon find myself in the law court to face justice if I libel a politician. I rest my case.

Author: Lawyer Di Asempa/Accra/flighana@yahoo.com