Cocobod Boss Prevails In Defamation Case … Against NDC Organizer

The High Court of Sekondi presided over by Her Ladyship, Sedinam Agbemava, on Monday pronounced judgment against Robert Gyan, the Amenfi East Constituency Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), for defamation against the Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo and his wife, Mrs Hannah Boahen Aidoo.

He was slapped with an amount of GH₵50,000 in general damages and another amount of GH₵15,000 and further ordered to publicly render an apology and retract his defamatory words against the COCOBOD boss and his wife, within 28 days from today.

Robert Gyan was found by the court to have deliberately spread falsehoods and launched attacks on Mr Aidoo and his wife during the campaign for the 2012 general elections. His lawyer was Kodjoga Adawudu, a member of the NDC legal team.

In what has now been clearly shown to be a planned and coordinated political communication strategy to fabricate and speared lies against Mr Aidoo, who at the time was contesting as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Amenfi Central constituency, Robert Gyan went on radio shows, including a show on Rivers FM Radio at Wasa Akropong, to claim that Mr. Aidoo had caused financial loss to the state by awarding road construction contracts to his wife during his time as Western Regional Minister.

The Plaintiffs, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo and his wife, Mrs Hannah Boahen Aidoo told the court that Robert Gyan, who is also a member of the NDC communication team had in June, July and August of 2016 made defamatory remarks against them by falsely claiming that three road construction projects, (a) from Ntwetwena to Saa, (b) from Adesu to Afransie and (c) from Wassa Akropong to Saamang all in the Amenfi East Constituency had been awarded by Mr Aidoo to his wife to construct though she had no road construction experience and that the roads were deteriorating as a result.

Mr Aidoo said these very same untruths had been used by Robert Gyan and his NDC party colleagues against him and his wife during the 2012 general elections. The damaging claims significantly contributing to the loss of his seat in parliament and tarnished Mrs Aidoo’s hard-won reputation as a successful businesswoman.

The roads in question were actually constructed by Abasa Construction Company and Archwork Construction.

The Plaintiffs asked the court to grant them reliefs by way of (a) a GH₵50,000 in damages; (b) an order for perpetual Injunction restraining the Defendant or his agents from ever publishing such defamatory remarks against the Plaintiffs; (c) recovery of legal cost of the litigation and (d) an order to render an unqualified apology and retraction by the same medium of the Rivers FM Radio Station.

The court granted the plaintiffs the reliefs they sought.