Pronounced sub-peenah or even suppeenah, this writ obliges the recipient – even the president – to appear in that court and testify. For the term subpoena literally means “under penalty”. That is to say that the recipient who fails to obey the summons faces some punishment. In other words, you can ignore a subpoena only on pain of a jail sentence or a stiff fine. To the extent that we observe the law, we live by the dictates of the lawgiver, namely, of whoever is for the time being our Draco, Hammurabi, Jefferson, Lycurgus, Moses, Napoleon, Solon or Stalin.

Source: Daily Nation January 17, 2020 20:48 UTC