Sunyani MCE sues Assemblyman – Demands GH¢900k in damages

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Sunyani, Vincent Antwi-Agyei, has dragged the Assembly Member for the Newtown Abonsuam Electoral Area, Raphael Cubagee, before the Sunyani High Court, demanding GH¢900,000 in damages for what he describes as a sustained, malicious and politically motivated campaign of defamation carried out through Facebook publications.

In a strongly worded 39-paragraph Statement of Claim filed on December 16, 2025, by his solicitor, Alexander Amponsah, Esq., of Adom Legal Consult, Sunyani, the Plaintiff accuses the Defendant of publishing a series of false and libellous statements in October 2025 that severely injured his reputation, integrity and political standing.

According to the Statement of Claim, the Plaintiff contends that the Defendant made defamatory Facebook publications on October 4, October 13, October 28 and on other occasions, which were clearly referable to him and calculated to lower him in the estimation of right-thinking members of society, expose him to public hatred, contempt and ridicule, and portray him as corrupt, lawless and unfit for public office.

The Plaintiff avers that in a Facebook publication dated October 28, 2025, the Defendant falsely alleged that he, together with a board member of the Sunyani Teaching Hospital, had ordered staff of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly to disrespect a court order and subsequently return to the same court to seek justice.

He insists that the allegation was false, malicious and deliberately crafted to paint him as a public officer who has no respect for the authority of the courts. He further states that on October 13, 2025, the Defendant published another post calling for a public demonstration on October 24, 2025 for his removal from office, accusing him of covering up and stealing from the people. The Plaintiff maintains that the claim was fabricated and intended to tarnish his image and destroy the credibility he has built as Municipal Chief Executive of Sunyani.

In yet another publication dated October 14, 2025, the Defendant is alleged to have called on President John Dramani Mahama to dismiss the Plaintiff from office, accusing him of collaborating with a member of the Governing Board of the Sunyani Teaching Hospital to steal nearly GH¢39 million belonging to the Assembly through kickbacks.

The Plaintiff has flatly denied any knowledge of such an amount or any involvement in the theft of public funds, describing the allegation as reckless, false and grossly defamatory.

The Statement of Claim further recounts that the Defendant also published a post alleging that the painting of a single bungalow had cost GH¢550,000, which he described as “stealing at its highest point,” and suggested that the Plaintiff should be hauled before the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

The Plaintiff argues that this publication effectively branded him a thief and a criminal before the general public, stressing that he has no knowledge of any such bungalow painting project and has never dealt with the named individuals in relation to such a matter.

The Plaintiff contends that to accuse a Municipal Chief Executive of wilfully disobeying a court order amounts to portraying him as disrespectful to the judiciary and unfit to lead the Municipality. He argues that the Defendant’s publications, taken together, depict him as a person of no integrity, a corrupt official and an untrustworthy custodian of public resources.

He further maintains that the cumulative effect of the Defendant’s publications has been to portray him as greedy, heartless, criminal-minded and shameless, thereby eroding public confidence in him as the representative of the President in the Sunyani Municipality and seriously undermining his authority as Municipal Chief Executive.

In a further revelation contained in the Statement of Claim, the Plaintiff says that the false publications have attracted the attention of Jubilee House, stating that he has received verbal queries and calls from the Chief of Staff to the President of the Republic of Ghana and the Bono Regional Minister over the allegations circulating on social media.

He avers that as a politician with aspirations for higher political office, the Defendant’s deliberate falsehoods have caused severe and irreversible damage to his political career, insisting that the dirt thrown at him through the false publications cannot simply be washed away.

The Plaintiff also states that his political opponents have seized upon the Defendant’s false allegations and amplified them, thereby directing public anger against him and further damaging his image. He says he is entitled to punitive and exemplary damages for the harm caused to his reputation and standing in society by the Defendant’s defamatory publications.

The Plaintiff indicates that he will, during the trial, seek leave of the court to tender all Facebook publications allegedly orchestrated by the Defendant to establish malice. Consequently, he is asking the court to grant the reliefs endorsed on the Writ of Summons.

As part of the reliefs sought, the Plaintiff is praying the Sunyani High Court to compel the Defendant to retract the defamatory publications from the same medium on which they were made and to issue an unqualified public apology with equal prominence. He is also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant, his agents or assigns from making or publishing any further defamatory statements against him.

From Edmond Gyebi, Sunyani

 

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