The High Court in Accra has awarded general damages in the sum of GHC5 million against Oliver Barker-Vormawor in favour of former National Security Minister Albert Kan Dapaah for defamation.

Additionally, the court has ordered that a cost of GH₵100,000 be paid by Barker-Vormawor (the Defendant) in favour of Kan Dapaah (the Plaintiff).

Delivering his judgment, Justice (Rev.) Joseph Owusu Adu-Agyeman said, “All the reliefs claimed by the Plaintiff (Kan Dapaah) are granted, except that the compensation claim of relief B (GHc10M) is reduced to GHC5M.”

Prior to delivering the decision, lawyers for Barker-Vormawor, led by Baffour Gyau Bonsu Ashia, moved an application for the relistment of their Statement of Defence and Witness Statement, which were earlier struck out, but the same was dismissed as being alien to the rules.

The former National Security Minister sued Barker-Vormawor, seeking GHC10 million in damages for an alleged $1 million bribery allegation made against him.

Background

Kan Dapaah initiated the action while at post as the National Security Minister (now former) and accused the former FixTheCountry Movement convener of defamation and initiated legal action against him.

The action by Kan Dapaah was on the back of allegations made by the Fix-The-Country convener that the National Security and some government officials had met him and offered him money to stop his activism against the government.

The allegation was refuted by the then National Security Minister, who subsequently filed a defamation suit in court against Barker-Vormawor.

He was seeking “recovery of the sum of ten million Ghana cedis (GHC10,000,000.00) as general damages, including aggravated and/or exemplary damages for defamation for the words uttered by the defendant.”

He is also seeking “an apology for and retraction of the words complained of supra” and “a perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant from repeating similar or other defamatory words against the Plaintiff!