A private legal petitioner, Yaw Oppong, has defended the jail term slapped on Rosemond Brown, popularly known as Akuapem Poloo.
This comes after a host of Ghanaians voiced their displeasure with the social media personality’s conviction for obscene content publishing and domestic abuse.
Following her arrest on the above offences, Rosemond Brown was sentenced to 90 days in prison.
Rosemond Brown, also identified as Akuapem Poloo, was found guilty of sharing a naked picture of herself and her seven-year-old son on his birthday, June 30, 2020.
She was sentenced by an Accra circuit court on Friday, April 16, 2021, after pleading guilty on all three counts after originally pleading not guilty.
Christina Cann, the magistrate, bemoaned the recent spate of pornography on Ghanaian social media.
According to her, Rosemond Brown’s sentence could act as a deterrent to others.
Mr Yaw Oppong noted that, while he does not wish for someone to be imprisoned, there is actually no legislation in Ghana that allows for a straightforward non-custodial punishment to be carried out.
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“As it is today, no judge has the power or jurisdiction to substitute his or her own sense of justice for what the statute expressly provides; else, they would be breaking the law and, most critically, their oath, and the risk will be that the law will remain unclear.”
Mr. Oppong said on The Big Issue that a petition to the Attorney-General may be filed to investigate the penalty meted out to the social network figure and other non-violent criminals.
“Laws may resolve human problems or prevent the occurrence of problems, and whether they are not doing that or are not doing that effectively, a petition should be sent to the Attorney General and, in a case like Akuapem Poloo’s, we believe that a more effective punishment could be a non-custodial sentence, like they do elsewhere, such as the publication of paedophiles and other crimes,” says the lawyer.
