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Baba Kamara wins GH¢1.5 million defamation case against former NDC MP

Baba Kamara wins GH¢1.5 million defamation case against former NDC MP

The Accra High Court has ordered a former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Salaga South, Ibrahim Dey Abubakari, to pay GH¢1.5 million in damages to a former National Security Advisor, Alhaji Baba Kamara, for defaming him.

Abubakari is said to have accused Alhaji Kamara of inflating contract costs in the renovation of the Vice-Presidential Mansion and pocketing the money meant for a water project in Salaga.

He also claimed that the former National Security Advisor diverted state vehicles and other items for his personal use.

Dissatisfied with the former legislator’s comments, Alhaji Kamara, on March 20, 2017, sued him for damages and also sought a perpetual injunction restraining him from further making defamatory statements about him.

Abubakari liable

After more than two years of legal tussle, the court, presided over by Justice Patience Mills-Tetteh, found Abubakari liable and held that the former MP had the intention and that he deliberately set out to damage Alhaji Kamara’s reputation.

Apart from the damages, the court also awarded costs of GH¢5,000 against Abubakari.

“Incivility is gradually creeping into our society; people give bad reports about other people on our airwaves without checking the authenticity of the facts and this must be controlled; public servants of this country must be lifted up and be respected after services to this nation. It is not right to accuse people of wrongdoing when it has not been established by any means that they have committed those offences.

“This nation must not encourage the dissemination of false news and provocative vocabulary on our airwaves because it can cause irreparable damage to the image of the persons who are the subject of discussions. It does not pay to use words to tear up people in authority,” the presiding judge said in her judgement

Number crunch
GH¢1.5 million
The Accra High Court has awarded GH¢1.5 million in damages against Ibrahim Dey Abubakari, a former MP for Salaga South, for defaming Alhaji Baba Kamara, a former National Security Advisor.

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