Defamation: Kan Dapaah’s motion for GHc10m default judgement dismissed

A motion from National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah, for a GHc10 million default judgement against Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor over an alleged bribery claims has been dismissed by the High Court.

Kan Dapaah had on September 26, this year, filed a defamation suit against Barker-Vormawor and Claims against the Defendant among other things a “Recovery of the sum of GHc10 million as General Damages including Aggravated costs.”

This was after Barker-Vormawor had alleged that the Minister, together with Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance and a Brigadier General had offered him and some leaders of #FixTheCountry Movement $1 million to stop their activism.

Dissatisfied with the alleged claims from Barker-Vormawor, Mr. Kan Dapaah filed a defamation claims against Barker-Vormawor.

Since the suit was filed, the Minister contended that, the defendant had failed to file a defence.

As a result, he, on November 20, 2023, filed a motion for a default judgement and claimed that, although Defendant (Barker-Vormawor) entered Conditional Appearance on October 2, the Defendant has failed and/or refused to file a Defence.

He believed that the Defendant has no Defence to Plaintiff’s claims and prayed for Judgement in Default of Defence against the Defendant as endorsed on the Writ of Summons.

In Court on November 29, when the case was called for the motion for judgement in default, Justice Joseph Adu-Agyemang, said the Minister cannot seek a default judgement in a declaratory reliefs.

The Court said, the rules of the High Court do not lend support to the grant of a declaratory reliefs as per the case of the Applicant.

Justice Dr Srem-Sai, Counsel for the Defendant (Barker-Vormawor) said, they were served with the motion for default judgement last Friday but he only got it on Wednesday.

He argued that, the minister and his counsel cannot seek a default judgement in a declaratory reliefs.

Dr Srem Sai said, his team have since filed a notice for preliminary objection to the motion for default judgement.

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He also said, they have a defence to the minister’s claims and were ready to have it filed, when asked by the Court.

But, while Counsel for the Plaintiff, (Kan Dapaah), Bright Okyere-Adjekum, sought to move his application for default judgement, the Court said that sins against the rules of the High Court.

Justice Adu-Agyemang, subsequently, directed lawyers of Barker-Vormawor to file the defence to the defamation suit in two weeks

The case has been adjourned to December 14, 2023.

Reliefs

Kan Dapaah is seeking the following reliefs;

a. Defendant had absolutely no basis whatsoever for his defamatory statements.

b. Defendant was absolutely reckless by his defamatory statements as he showed no scintilla of evidence to support the defamatory statements.

c. Plaintiff has never had any other meeting with the Defendant beyond the aforementioned second meeting whether alone or in concert with others.

d. Notwithstanding the fact that Plaintiff has made it clear to Defendant that the statements are false, the Defendant has not offered the Plaintiff any apology or retraction. It is to be inferred that Defendant has failed to do so because he is indifferent to the truth and is simply reckless and malicious.