A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Jabir Mohammed, has strongly criticised the arrest warrant against Kelvin Taylor, arguing that it violated his right to due process and a fair hearing.
Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show on Monday, July 22, Mr Mohammed reacted to the Supreme Court’s ruling that nullified a 2020 High Court-issued arrest warrant for contempt. The warrant stemmed from what the judiciary described at the time as “extremely scandalous” remarks made by Taylor, a vocal social commentator, against judges.
“You realise that Kelvin Taylor has been on the wanted list for a very long time, and that is because he was so critical of the previous government’s way of handling things,” Mr Mohammed explained.
He expressed concern over the lack of a formal invitation for Taylor to appear in court prior to the warrant’s issuance.
“For me, that isn’t fair to the gentleman. He should have been given a fair hearing, and at the end of the day, if the court finds him guilty, then a warrant of arrest can be issued,” he said.
Mr Mohammed highlighted standard legal procedure, which mandates that accused individuals must be served and granted the opportunity to respond before any arrest action is taken.
“That is a different matter altogether from someone speaking on social media and being accused of contempt just because they criticised the judiciary,” he added.
He further questioned how such practices could undermine freedom of speech. “Just like me, as I’m speaking here, they could come and say I’ve done something contemptuous of court. Yet you haven’t even asked me to come to court to defend myself, and you issued a warrant for my arrest. Can you believe that?”
While acknowledging that not all of Taylor’s comments were appropriate, Mr Mohammed reiterated that the principle of justice must be upheld.
“Even though Taylor said some things that were not right, not everything he said was wrong. He should be given a fair hearing, and if there are appropriate sanctions to be given to him, they should be given.”
