The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Sekyere Kumawu, Samuel Addai Agyekum, has sued for GH¢100, 000 damages against a New Patriotic Party (NPP) party activist for defamation.
The defendant, Kennedy Kwaku Antwi, has said in a video recording posted on an NPP Youth WhatSapp Platform that the DCE has been misusing state funds, which the plaintiff DCE sees as a palpable lie intended to create disaffection for him without any lawful justification.
A writ of summons issued by S.K. Boafo and Co., a law firm in Kumasi on behalf of the plaintiff, said the said video, already trending on social media, was malicious, reckless and without basis.
The suit follows the defendant’s failure to retract the pronouncement and apologise for the defamatory statements.
The suit, filed after the expiration of the 21 days grace period to retract the statement, also sought an order of the court to compel the defendant to retract and apologise to the plaintiff in writing.
On July 2, the DCE caused his lawyer at the Gye Nyame Chambers to demand an apology in writing within seven days from the defendant, failure of which he would commence legal proceedings against him.
The defendant had also said in the video that the DCE had awarded a GH¢100,000 contract to one Eugene Moratt for the construction of a bridge, which collapsed within twelve months upon its completion.
He had explained that the Member of Parliament (MP) had brought in the Regional Engineer to inspect the state of the project as a result of the shoddy work.
Meanwhile, Mr. Augustine Asante Addae, Solicitor for Mr. Moratt, has similarly demanded a retraction and apology from Mr. Antwi for the malicious, vexatious, scandalous and defamatory statements against his client.
Mr. Eugene Moratt has debunked the claim by the defendant that he is a contractor, and that he had not been awarded any contract.
He said, as an Ambassador for Peace and Tourism for the District and a native of Abotanso, he regularly visited the project site to ascertain progress of work, and not necessarily as a contractor for the project.
Antwi had seven days from July 13, 2020 to apologise or face another legal action for defaming the Ambassador for Peace and Tourism for the district.
The defendant, who says he is the Kumawu NPP Communication Officer, said he was ready to contest the suit in court, even though no notice has been served on him.
The post DCE sues NPP footsoldier for GH¢100, 000 damages appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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