Former Manso Nkwanta Member of Parliament, Joseph Albert Qualm, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), according to documents obtained by The Accra Times.
Qualm is seeking damages in the amount of GH¢2.5 million and has requested a restraining order to prevent Frimpong-Boateng from making any further comments regarding the galamsey report that he authored.
The leaked report attributed to Frimpong-Boateng alleges various misconduct by the former MP, including the acquisition of numerous mining concessions through his position as a board member of the Minerals Commission. The report further claims that Qualm subsequently sold these concessions to private individuals, including party members, for a significant sum of two hundred thousand Cedis per concession. These allegations reportedly caused discontent within the party during the 2020 primaries, leading to Qualm’s defeat by a less well-known candidate.
Qualm strongly denies these allegations and has taken legal action, asserting that the statements made in Frimpong-Boateng’s report are defamatory. The former MP is seeking a court declaration that the report’s content is capable of defamatory meaning and actually defamatory towards him.
Join our WhatsApp Channel for more news
In addition to the damages, Qualm is also seeking an injunction to prevent further publication or dissemination of the report’s allegations against him. This includes restraining Frimpong-Boateng, his representatives, agents, or any other parties involved, from publishing or causing the publication of any portion of the report related to the allegations against Qualm. Furthermore, Qualm aims to prohibit the repetition of defamatory statements through media interviews or any other means by Frimpong-Boateng.
