The Paramount Chief of Osu Traditional Area in Accra, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, is awaiting the Judicial Service of Ghana to decide which court to hear a defamatory case he filed against three newspapers for publishing what he claims are ‘defamatory’ stories against him.
The Chief is also waiting for the date of the first hearing of the case involving Graphic Communication Group Ltd, publishers of Daily Graphic Newspaper, Kweku Baako Media Ltd, publishers of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper and the Eagle Media and Communications Ltd, the publishers of the Ghanaian Observer Newspaper.
The Osu Mantse is seeking GHS10m from these newspapers for publishing what he claims are defamatory stories against him.
He is also waiting for a court order by the Judicial Service in a form of a letter to be sent to the accused entities and person indicating the court for the hearing of the case and the date for the first hearing.
Other individuals among the suit include one David Ashong, also known as Nii Nortey Owuo III, Victor Okwei Nortey, Paa Solomon Quaynor and Ishmael Nortey Adumuah also known as Nii Nortey Adumuah.
The aforementioned media houses in their Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10 2018 editions published a story captioned “Osu Mantse Cautions Tenants, Developers and Business Owners…Over Osu Stool Landsâ€.
The papers claimed that “The usurper chief has been intimidating tenants on Osu Stool and other lands with threats of court action†and has sued a good number of tenants for a large sum of money.
This acclaims, according to the Osu Mantse, was ‘defamatory’, hence the suit against the defendants.
He is also demanding from the court ‘an injunction restraining the defendants and each of them, whether themselves, their agents, servants, workers or any entity authorized by them or any other person[s] or publishers from further publishing any similar or further libelous materials about him.
The writ, filed by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Kwame Fosu Gyeabour ESQ. of Fosu- Gyeabour and CO; Kyidom Royal Chambers pointed out that, unless the defendants retract the offending publications in the same mode and prominence as published within fourteen [14] days after judgment and render an unqualified apology to plaintiff, the plaintiff will demand the said amount from the defendant.
In an attached documents upon which the plaintiff intends to support his claims stated that the ‘plaintiff is the Paramount Chief of Osu whose name is in the National Register of Chiefs as the Osu Mantse and also the President of the Osu Traditional Council’.
‘The plaintiff is also the member and the President of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs and a member of the National House of Chiefs, a businessman and a Director of several local and international companies’.
“The plaintiff is also a representative of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs at the National House of Chiefs, a board member of the Lands Commission and also a board member of the Dubois Centre under the Ministry of Tourism and has been statutory recognized as the Chief of Osu who performs all public functions and ceremonies of the state on behalf of the Osu Stoolâ€, Lawyer Fosu Gyeabour explained.
Therefore, “the said publications have brought plaintiff into public scandal, odium, ridicule, insult and contempt among his colleagues, family members, certain individuals and the general public and have caused or have the propensity to cause other persons, colleagues of plaintiff and the general public to avoid the plaintiffâ€.
The Counsel said “the publications also have the propensity of denying the plaintiff’s stool revenue, income and profits due to the stool and from realizing the fruits of numerous judgments plaintiff has obtained on behalf of the stool over Osu Stool lands, the publications have lowered and continue to lower the plaintiff in the estimation of right thinking members of the society generallyâ€.