By William
Yaw Owusu
Monday May
28, 2018
The Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Charlotte
Osei, was missing last week when a case in which she has sued a lawyer for
defamation was called at an Accra High Court.
It is unclear why the EC boss was not in court, but
lawyer for Maxwell Opoku Agyemang the defendant, - who is leading some EC staff
in the impeachment proceedings against Mrs. Osei - was present.
Defamation
Suit
On July 25, 2017, Mrs Charlotte Osei sued Mr. Opoku-
Agyemang for defamation after the lawyer had assisted some petitioners (EC
staff) who were calling for the impeachment of the EC chair, to present a
petition to President Akufo-Addo.
She had claimed that there were no petitioners from
the EC who were calling for her dismissal, and that the defendant was only
tarnishing her image.
She is pleading with the court to direct Mr.
Opoku-Agyemang “to publish a retraction and an apology with the same prominence
as the defamatory words on his Facebook page, as well as one publication in DAILY GRAPHIC.”
She is also seeking an injunction restraining the
defendant and his assigns from authorising or causing to be published similar
words against her.
She is further
urging the court to award costs, including legal fees, and award general and
aggravated damages against the defendant - Mr. Opoku-Agyemang.
In
the suit, lawyer for Charlotte Osei, Thadeus Sory, argues that “the false and
malicious publications by defendant has injured the image of plaintiff and
brought her hard won reputation into hatred, ridicule, odium, discredit,
contempt, opprobrium and reproach.”
She
is therefore seeking among others, a declaration that “the statements that
plaintiff is managerially and administratively inept” because plantiff has no
respect for the organizational structure of the Electoral Commission, “has poor
human relations not befitting of any leader in public space” has “unilaterally
transferred District Electoral Officers perceived to be pro-NPP,” “…polarized
the Commission along political lines” and disunited its members stated at
paragraphs 11, 12, 13, 20, 21 and 26 of the petition attached to Defendant’s
letter conveying the petition to His Excellency the President of the Republic
of Ghana, are defamatory of plaintiff.”
Motion
On Notice
After Mrs. Osei’s suit had been filed, the
defendant, Mr. Opoku-Agyemang, filed a motion on notice through his counsel,
Julius Opoku Agyei, asking the High Court to strike out the EC boss’ suit.
He, in the alternative, asked the court to grant an
order of interlocutory injunction to restrain Thaddeus Sory and other lawyers
from his law firm (Sory@Law) from further defending her in the matter.
“That Sory@Law is the law firm retained by the
commission and Thaddeus Sory is the sole owner and head of chambers of
Sory@Law,” Lawyer Opoku-Agyemang had submitted and insisted that the
allegations in the petition sent to the President to order the Chief Justice to
initiate impeachment proceedings against the EC boss put her in the performance
of her duties at the EC and her personal interests against the interest of the
EC and the Republic of Ghana.
He further argued that Mr. Sory had participated in
meetings and was privy to happenings at the EC which he could use to prosecute
the defamation suit against him (Mr. Opoku-Agyemang).
The applicant had said he would plead justification
in the course of the hearing of the defamation suit against him, as well as the
manner in which the services of Sory@Law were engaged and retained by the EC.
The applicant further said the engagement of the
services of Sory@Law was part of the dispute in the petition and for that
reason, it was imperative for the court to place an interlocutory injunction on
the applicant.
Later
Withdrawal
Later, Mr Opoku-Agyemang caused the withdrawal of
the interlocutory injunction application filed against Mr. Sory for
representing the EC chair; and the court, presided over by Justice Ackaah-
Boafo, imposed a fine of GH¢4,000 against the lawyer.
Mr. Opoku Agyei, in his submission for withdrawal on
behalf of his client, had said that the move became necessary because Mr. Opoku
Agyemang had caused another lawyer to enter appearance on his behalf in the
same matter in a different court.
However, Justice Ackaah- Boafo insisted that he was
minded to grant the application because there was no rule that prevented him
from doing same.
Main
Case
Subsequently, Mrs Charlotte Osei, through her
lawyers, filed for directions and Mr. Opoku-Agyemang’s lawyers appeared before
the court for further deliberation, but the plaintiff and her lawyers were
nowhere to be found in court.
Interestingly, the matter (petition to the
president) for which the EC boss sued the lawyer for defamation, is being
determined by a five-member judicial committee after the Chief Justice had
established a prima facie case against her.
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