Ghana FA boss slaps radio station Asempa & presenters Songo and Abatay with $3m defamation lawsuit

Published on: 21 November 2014
Ghana FA boss slaps radio station Asempa & presenters Songo and Abatay with $3m defamation lawsuit
Ghana FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi.

Ghana FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi has filed a defamation and libel lawsuit against one of the country's media houses Asempa FM and two of its sports presenters for labelling him as a thief after 'years of consistent lies and negative campaigns' against him.

Multimedia Group Limited, the holding company of Asempa FM, and two of its sports presenters Patrick Osei-Agyemang affectionately called Countryman Songo and Ultimate Sports Morning Show host Kofi Asare-Braako have been served the writs of defamation.

The lawsuit claims that false reports about him were "broadcasted by Asempa FM throughout the world" via the internet and has severely damaged his reputation good name.

Lawyers for Nyantakyi are seeking punitive damages for libellous statements calculated at damaging his reputation in the eyes of the public.

Ghana's leading football official says Asempa FM and its reporters damaged his reputation and he is seeking 10 million GhC10m ($3m) in the suit.

The lawsuit comes two weeks after the Ghana FA announced a public boycott of Asempa FM for the 'consistent lies calculated to demonize the federation in the eyes of Ghanaians with false and one-sided reports'.

The lawsuit, filled at the Fast Track court in Accra, said the reports on him by the radio station were "false and malicious" and he is armed with over 100 recordings of the programmes which have been marked as slanderous.

Nyantakyi said their claims have caused him "humiliation" and "distress" and that he "has been subjected to unfathomable amounts of ridicule and public scorn".

The legal challenge has got wide implications for Asempa FM as Nyantakyi holds international positions on Swiss-based organisation FIFA, CAF and he is also the leader of the West Africa Football Union (WAFU).

Nyantakyi had previously warned that he would consider filing a defamation lawsuit against the two reporters and their radio station for repeatedly making slanderous and libellous statements and claims about him.

Watch video of Songo on Nyantakyi

Despite complaints to the owners and manager of the radio the reports went on unabated as it reached its apex last week when Brako called Nyantakyi 'a thief' and 'has defrauded Ghanaians for far loo long'.

Under Ghanaian law, damaging someone's reputation with false information is a crime that can carry a huge fine which was recently witnessed between a newspaper and a high-ranking official of the ruling government.

Songo's Fire for Fire programme has mainly been modelled on Nyantakyi who has been the subject of discussion on his sports show for the past four years.

The CAF Executive Committee member wants an end to the bad-mouthing and unprofessional conduct of the above-mentioned journalists to end.

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