Divorcing Tony…
AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN
DIVORCING TONY
EPISODE 10
Grandma Cecilia was saved from a possible neck trauma by two heavy and muscled policemen providing security in the court.
The moment Tony Siaw began to chase the woman, the two men also burst into action, and when Tony’s hands settled around the old woman’s neck they stepped in quickly.
One placed his hands on Tony’s grasp and broke the choking hold as the other one pulled the hapless old woman away from the furious Tony. For a moment Tony struggled, still filled with fury, but the big policeman held him and spoke urgently.
“Mr. Siaw, hey, Mr. Siaw, be gentle, be gentle! The judge will cite you for contempt and throw you out of the courtroom! You won’t be able to go near your children, I swear!”
And that got to Tony!
He went still suddenly as the words sank in, and it dawned on him that he had just overreacted and possibly harmed his cause.
“Oh, crap!” he muttered with sudden docility and stopped struggling.
There was pandemonium in the courtroom.
Loud laughter was mixed with angry voices.
This was captured live and transmitted to people watching on televisions and on the internet. One of the television cameramen zoomed in on the conk-like head of Madam Cecilia and the strange drawings on her skull depicting hideous faces.
Seeing that her mother’s head was now the main attraction, Sandra rushed out of her seat, picked up the wig that had fallen, and quickly fixed it on her mother’s head.
She then led the trembling, traumatized woman back to her seat.
Judge Ivy Asante Darteh sat quietly with her fingers steepled beneath her chin, her angry eyes fixed on Tony Siaw as he returned morosely to his seat in the witness box.
She did not touch her gavel this time, but allowed the voices in the courtroom to continue until, little by little, people stopped talking and silence reigned.
Liz was looking at her husband with a stunned expression on his face. She had not known that he detested her grandmother this much. Indeed, she had known he did not particularly like any of her immediate family members except Grace, but she had not known he was this furious about them.
Had he kept all that emotion bottled up for her sake?
She saw Tony sighing and looking at the judge.
“I messed up, didn’t I?” Tony asked softly.
Judge Darteh’s jawline tightened.
“Messed up?” she spoke tightly. “You yourself are a mess, Tony Siaw. You’re an epitomic definition of the word ‘mess.’ And you leave me with no option. I am citing you for contempt, Mr. Siaw, and marching you right out of here!”
“Madam, please, I’m sorry,” Tony said immediately. “I know my behaviour has been bad. Please, it is because of the emotions raging in me because I’ve been denied seeing my children. Please, I beg of you, Your Honour. I will be calm now.”
The judge shook her head sadly.
“Unfortunately, your apology has come a tad too late, sir,” she said with genuine regret. “You leave me with no option, Mr. Tony Siaw. I hereby cite you for contempt of court and hereby sentence you…”
“Your Honour, a moment please!” came a clear female voice from the audience in the front row, and the judge looked up sharply to see the young woman who was on her feet and was approaching the bench. “May I approach, please?”
“Lawyer Kharisa Nyantie,” the judge said, raising her eyebrows. “Thought I saw you in the audience. Now, why are you interrupting my ruling? And the reason better be good, young lady.”
“Respectfully, my Lord, I would like to speak on behalf of the convict but as a friend of this court,” Lawyer Kharisa Nyantie said.
The judge’s frown deepened.
“Are you raising an amicus curia in my court, young lady?” she asked in a tone that showed her displeasure.
The young lawyer was now standing beside Tony’s witness box, and looked at the judge with an apologetic smile.
“My Lord, I have been following this case from the beginning, based on the interest that it had garnered in the public. I, and I believe the rest of the public, dearly want to see it come to an amicable and agreeable end,” she said, and was met with murmurs of assent from the spectators.
“Well, go on, Lawyer Nyantie,” the Judge said testily. “I’m listening to your rather unexpected amicus curia intents.”
“My Lord, I can see that the convict here is very aggrieved by matters that have been happening, and because of that his emotions have taken over his sense of reasoning. So, I will plead with this court – although what he did goes against the ethics and the rules of this court – but I’m pleading for a pardon for him this time, so that you tender mercy with regard to your judgement for contempt so that he is able to see this case through.”
There were more murmurings of agreement from the spectators, and as the judge looked at the young lawyer, her grim countenance relaxed for a little.
“Quite out of curiosity, Lawyer Nyantie, would you mind telling me if you perhaps know Mr. Tony Siaw personally?”
Kharisa shook her head.
“On the contrary, I’m a fan of Liz Baidoo, and I remember feeling a bit disappointed when I heard she was marrying a virtually unknown person when we all thought she was headed for the altar with Mr. Frank Nsiah.”
The judge sighed.
“Well, thank you for pleading on behalf of the convict,” the judge said finally. “I was going to sentence him to a week imprisonment at the Nsawam Prison, and to a fine of three thousand Ghana cedis. But, granting your amicus curia, I hereby strike out the prison sentence but maintain the fine. Mr. Tony Siaw, you may continue being in this court, but remember that one last misbehaviour from you and you will be sent to prison, and custody denied you to your children. Have I made myself clear?”
“You have,” Tony said and turned to the lawyer standing beside his dock. “And thank you, Lawyer Kharisa. I do appreciate your amicus or whatever the heck that was.”
As laughter rang out in the court, the young lawyer returned to her seat and the judge shook her head once.
“You’ll never change, Mr. Siaw,” she said calmly. “Now, before your rather Kung Fu antics, you mentioned your young son told you that his great-grandmother made them kneel to some family god…”
“Not a family god,” Tony said sharply. “A deity, a sea goddess called Suprumanchu Tidiidi.”
“And according to your son, he was made to drink… blood?” the judge inquired, and it was evident she was very much affected by the mere thought of that.
“Yeah, I don’t know if it’s blood but it is red, with some damn concoctions,” Tony said, his anger rising again. “I remember I was offered that drink once, before our marriage, during what they called Suprumanchu Tidiidi Tuppapa Afahye, some shit like that!”
“Mr. Siaw!”
“Sorry, sorry, Your Honour,” Tony said. “I’m very sorry.”
“Other family members were present during this… event?”
“They all were, the lot of them… parents, children, grandchildren, a horde of them.”
“And did you drink it, Mr. Siaw?” the judge asked.
“Fuck, no!” Tony said, disgusted, unable to control himself, and again laughter rang around the courtroom. “I left it on the table and walked out. Actually, I wanted to throw it into their damn faces, you know, mash that crap into their bloody skins if they wanted. But I loved Liz so much, you see, and didn’t want to do anything to jeopardise what we had, so I simply left the concoction on the table and walked out. I don’t do madness.”
The judge looked at Liz then.
“Were you there, Mrs. Siaw?” she asked softly.
Liz, suddenly feeling the eyes of people on her, nodded uncomfortably.
“Yes, Your Honour, but it is not as disgusting as he is describing it, please.”
“I just want to know if what he is recounting is true, Liz.”
“Well, yes, it is true,” Liz said with a sigh. “And he walked out. But that drink is not blood. Grandma makes it from tree roots, herbs, flavouring and a little colouring, please.”
There were murmurs in the courtroom, and the judge rapped with her gavel.
“And are you aware your children partake in that ceremony?”
“No!” Liz cried and shook her head. “That’s one of the things Tony and I agreed on, to keep them away from… from that! I made Grandma aware of it because, frankly, I never liked it myself but…”
The judge nodded sadly.
“I understand,” she said with narrowed eyes. “And did Tony tell you that your son confided in him about this ceremony?”
“No, Your Honour,” Liz said miserably. “This is the first time I’m hearing of it. My parents and my grandma promised me, and they don’t break promises. I don’t think Junior took part in this, no, never.”
“You think Tony is lying?” the judge prodded.
“Yes, I believe he is!” Liz cried desperately. “I believe he wants people to think we’re devil worshippers and so give him an advantage in getting custody of the children! But we don’t worship the devil! The name Suprumanchu Tidiidi might sound a bit, well, awkward and all, but it is a belief, just like people believe in Jesus and Allah and gods.”
The judge looked at Tony.
“Your wife does not believe you,” she said gravely. “Are you aware you’re under oath, and lies you tell this court would go against you, eventually?”
“As I said, she will always take their word over mine, so I don’t tell her crap anymore.”
“How old are your children, Mr. Siaw?”
“Junior is six, Ceci will be three next month,” he said.
“Alright,” the judge said. “I assume the children are home, Mrs. Siaw?”
Liz looked sharply at her mother, who raised her hand.
“Yes, Mrs. Sandra Baidoo?” the judge acknowledged.
“They’re with my daughter, Stacy, please.”
“Where?”
“Our residence, please, at Esikado.”
“Esikado is not far from here,” the judge said brusquely. “We’ll take a recess for one hour. Mrs. Baidoo, call your daughter. Tell her to bring the children over. I want to speak to Junior myself.”
“Your Honour!” Hassan Moshi cried, indignant. “He’s only six years old!”
The judge glared darkly at the lawyer.
“Is he deaf, blind and mute?” the judge asked. “Is he paralyzed, crippled, and not of sound mind?”
“No, but…”
“But nothing, Counsel. You don’t have a problem. One hour,” the judge said and hammered her gavel once.
“Court rise!” the court orderly said.
And when they all got to their feet, Liz saw her parents and grandmother conferring urgently, and she turned haunted eyes at Tony.
But Tony Siaw had not even risen to his feet.
He had covered his face with his hands, and gently rubbing his temples.
Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, Divorcing Tony, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, Divorcing Tony, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, Divorcing Tony, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, Divorcing Tony, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, Divorcing Tony, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, Divorcing Tony
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