Daily Guide ordered to pay Asiedu Nketia GH¢250,000

Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), yesterday won a defamation suit he had brought against the Daily Guide newspaper.

A Fast Track High Court presided over by Mr Justice Nicolas Mensah Cudjoe Abodakpi ordered the newspaper to pay GH¢ 250,000 as damages for defamation.

It further ordered the newspaper to pay GH¢ 15,000 as costs.

The court also asked the defendants to retract the story four times with much prominence on its front pages.

The articles published by the newspaper had the headline “Asiedu Nketia Plush Mansions" and " I am not useless, Asiedu Nketia bluffs.”

The court also granted perpetual injunction restraining the defendants jointly and severally either by themselves, their agents or assigns from further publishing any defamatory articles by the newspaper.

The General Secretary (plaintiff), three years ago, sued Western Media Publications and its workers, mainly Mr Fortune Alimi, the editor, and two reporters, Charles Takyi Boadu and Morgan Owusu, for defamation.

The three defendants on March 2 and 3, 2011 published in the Daily Guide newspaper under the headline “Asiedu Nketia’s Plush Mansions” and “I am not useless, Asiedu Nketia bluffs.”

Those stories alleged that Mr Asiedu Nketia used his position as chairman of the Bui Power Authority Board to divert building materials for his personal building project.

Also in the publications the defendants contended that Mr Asiedu Nketia had built  a storey building each at Oyarifa and Kumasi and attached photographs of the buildings. The plaintiff pointed out that a simple inquiry by the defendants would have revealed that  the supposed house in Kumasi  was the same as the one at Oyarifa.

According to the plaintiff, he had been inundated with calls to answer embarrassing questions and inquiries from different people, including business associates, colleagues, friends and family relations in Ghana and abroad.

He contended that the publications were designed to cause hatred, ridicule and public odium which had also tarnished his hard earned reputation.

Meanwhile Seth J. Bokpe reports that Mr Asiedu Nketiah has said his victory in the defamation suit against the Daily Guide is a punishment for dishonesty and lies. 

“The problem of this country is more about dishonesty and lying than corruption.  The way to address it is to make dishonesty and lying very expensive.

“The way to make it expensive is to ensure that when people are caught lying, they must be dealt with punitively,” he said at a press conference in Accra yesterday.  

According to him, ordinarily, “I would not take any media house at the first instance without giving them the opportunity to know the fact and correct the damage. I tried doing that and I was met with further insults.”

“I don’t also go to court on just any accusation. I have never taken any radio station to court because I have been insulted as a foolish person. This is because being wise or foolish is your opinion but when you accuse me of criminality, as for that we would deal with it in court,” he said.

A smiling Mr Asiedu-Nketiah said he would pursue the matter to its logical conclusion and claim all the monies awarded him.

“I want to clear the mind of doubting Thomases that the intention is not just to go to court, and not to pursue the claims. I am promising you that I will pursue my right and take my money.  The money will not go to any charity,” he said.