The Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah has initiated legal proceedings against The Law Platform and its Lead Editor, Jonathan Owusu Asare, over a defamatory publication.
The online article, dated May 7, 2024, alleged that the Minister and his wife were taken to court for purportedly engaging in 'land grabbing' with the aid of state security personnel.
The publication claimed that the Minister for Transport and his wife, Mrs Wilhemina Asiamah, were scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, May 9, 2024, for unlawfully entering and trespassing on a land situated at the prime Tse Addo residential enclave.
However, the plaintiff refuted these accusations and demanded a retraction and apology within a specified time-frame. Despite this request, the portal failed to comply with the demands.
Consequently, the plaintiff has filed a defamation lawsuit, alleging that the defendant portrayed him as a criminal who abuses his office.
The lawsuit seeks to address the damage caused by the alleged false and malicious statements made by The Law Platform and its Lead Editor.
“The Plaintiff says that the said publication of the Defendant on his website, The Law Platform, is defamatory of the Plaintiff’s hard-earned reputation as a public servant with several years of service.
“The Plaintiff avers that in terms of the comments made by the Defendant, pleaded in Paragraph 7 above, the Defendant meant and was understood to mean that the Plaintiff is a criminal, taking forcefully what does not belong to him and the abusing his office as a public officer.”
Among other remedies sought, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah is pursuing compensatory damages and requests the publication of a retraction and apology.
These actions are aimed at rectifying the harm caused by the defamatory publication and restoring his reputation.
“An order directed at the Defendant to retract the said defamatory statement made about the Plaintiff and published on The Law Platform online portal."
“An order directed at the Defendant to publish an apology to the Plaintiff in the following manner; i. By making three (3) publications of the apology on The Law Platform online portal ii. By making one publication in a national daily newspaper," an excerpt of his summons said.
Credit: Ernest K Arhinful