Asenso-Boakye sues A Plus
A Deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, has sued Kwame Asare Obeng, alias A Plus, at an Accra High Court to the tune of GH¢20 million for injuring his character, reputation, among others.
Mr Asenso-Boakye is also praying the court to place a perpetual injunction restraining A Plus from any further statements and publications against him and award general damages against the defendant.
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He is also praying the court to ensure that A Plus retracts all his statements against him (plaintiff) and offer an unqualified apology through publications in the Daily Graphic newspaper within 14 days from the day of judgement.
The GH¢20 million consists of aggravated and exemplary damages of GH¢8 million and compensatory damages of GH¢12 million, including legal fees.
The plaintiff averred that the defendant’s earlier allegations of dishonest conduct, corruption and related criminal conduct against him (plaintiff) were duly investigated by the Ghana Police Service and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and declared to be unproven and false.
Character assasination
The plaintiff said as someone who participated fully in the said investigations, he (defendant) knew of the outcome of the investigations and yet ignored same and continued to perpetrate the defamatory statements.
It said the defendant executed the assassination of character through the writing and publication of a series of outright falsehoods on social media, including on his Facebook page on or about August 27, 2017 and on or about May 22 and 23, 2018.
It stated that on August 27, 2017, A Plus published on his Facebook wall that “NPP delegates congress ... seven months of NPP government. So far so good, except appointing some very corrupt officials, including the two very stupid chiefs of staff.
“It’s amazing how Nana was able to appoint two thieves whose level of stupidity is the same. Arrogant and corrupt fools. You think you’ll be in power forever. Even John Mahama I was not afraid of him, then you...”
The particulars of claims stated that on May 23, 2018, the defendant again wrote on his Facebook wall that “Kwesi Nyantakyi is only being sacrificed to cover up the alleged 89/178 million dollars GVG Kelni stinking scandal. Just about a year ago, I accused Asenso of being corrupt.
It added that A Plus also alleged that people who wanted to see the President were charged huge sums of money before being given that opportunity.
It claimed that the defendant stated on his Facebook wall that “It is also being reported that Kwesi Nyantakyi asked people to go and bribe the same Asenso so that he reminds the President of their deal. Out of 27 million people in Ghana you think it's only Nyantakyi who knows how "cheap" Ghana is and who to bribe? We are only hearing about this one that has backfired. It is possible that some have gone through that we don't know of. It is even possible that they went and paid.
Who knows?”
It added that the defendant alleged that the embattled Ghana Football Association Chairman Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, according to reports, financed Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's campaign and that Mr Nyantakyi knew the one he dealt with.
“He knows who he dealt with. He knows how it is done. That is why he is said to have told them what to do. The fact of the matter is that 90 per cent of his campaign donations, if any, wouldn't get to Akufo-Addo. Somebody chopped it".