Lawyers for the plaintiff in the GH¢20m defamation case against Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have accused the defendant of making public appearances despite telling the court that he is not medically fit to open his defence.
The plaintiff, a former Auditor-General, Professor Dua Agyeman, has sued Mr Nketiah for claiming that he (Prof. Agyeman) generated fake audit reports resulting in him being sacked by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana.
When the case was called on Wednesday, Nana Banyin Ackon who held the brief for Gary Nimako Marfo for the plaintiff, notified the court that Mr Nketiah who had notified the court that he was unwell, and had been granted a medical excuse duty, had been spotted on different occasions on party campaign grounds.
He prayed for an order directed at Mr Nketiah to proceed to mount the box and testify on the next adjourned date, adding: “We believe that at this stage, enough is enough”.
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Evidence
Mr Nketiah’s lawyer, Tonny Nyarko Acheampong, appearing for Samuel Codjoe, said contrary to what counsel had told the court, Mr Nketiah had not made any appearance anywhere, adding that counsel for the plaintiff had not supported his claim with any evidence.
“The court has only one duty to administer justice and does so fairly without sentiments invoked by counsel in the matter. If they said they saw him the appropriate thing to have done is to provide evidence before this court,” he told the court presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay.
After listening to both sides, the court did not make any consequential orders. Meanwhile lawyers for Kojo Thompson, who is billed to testify for Mr Nketiah, is yet to be served personally.
The case has been adjourned to October 8, 2024.
Background
Prof. Dua Agyeman is arguing that the allegation by Mr Asiedu Nketiah is without basis and that it only sought to impugn his integrity, dignity and reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.
According to the plaintiff, the defendant, on October 2, 2018, made some unsubstantiated and disparaging statements on an Accra-based radio station, Neat FM, accusing him of producing fake audit accounts in 1983 while he was at the Audit Service.
He is reported to have said that “the plaintiff was banned from auditing in 1983 by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana) for producing “fake” accounts for a non-existent company”. In view of the ban, the plaintiff could not practice as a private auditor.
The defendant’s comments caused the former Auditor General to sue the defendant on the grounds that the comments had generated media attention in Ghana and abroad, apparently to tarnish his hard-won reputation.
Reliefs sought
Prof. Dua Agyeman is accordingly praying the court to declare that the defendant’s publication on Neat FM that he was banned by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana) for producing fake audited accounts for a non-existent company is slanderous and defamatory of him and same was made without any reasonable, just or probable cause.
“A declaration that the Defendant’s publication on Neat FM that “Dua Agyeman concocted fake audit reports concerning some senior officers which led to their dismissal from public service” is slanderous and defamatory of the Plaintiff and same was made without any reasonable, just or probable cause,” the plaintiff is praying.
Prof. Dua Agyeman is seeking a further declaration that the defendant’s publication on Neat FM that he was sacked from the Audit Service by reason of dishonesty was slanderous and defamatory of him and same was made without any reasonable, just or probable cause.
He wants the court to grant an order of injunction directed at the defendant, agents, assigns and his privies from continuing to make any further defamatory publication about him.
An Order of Court directed at the defendant to retract the said defamatory publication and render an unqualified apology on Neat FM and four publications in the Daily Graphic is also being sought.
General damages and compensatory damages in the sum of GH¢20 million for loss of reputation is also being sought against the defendant.
