(MFWA/IFEX) – “Le Changement”, an independent weekly newspaper, was on 14 July 2006 sued by SE2M, a subsidiary of Pogosa, a multinational stevedoring group, at Grade I Magistrate Court in Lome, on three counts of allegedly publishing false information, defamation and insulting the company. According to a Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)-Togo source, SE2M […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – “Le Changement”, an independent weekly newspaper, was on 14 July 2006 sued by SE2M, a subsidiary of Pogosa, a multinational stevedoring group, at Grade I Magistrate Court in Lome, on three counts of allegedly publishing false information, defamation and insulting the company.
According to a Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)-Togo source, SE2M complained that the newspaper had described as “old second hand machines”, two cranes the company commissioned at the Lome Port in June.
The 29 June edition of “Le Changement” published a story about the commissioning ceremony, which according to the newspaper, was a “great deal of noise about some old cranes”. It also described SE2M’s chief executive officer, Jacques Dupuydauby, as a “great manipulator” who uses his influence to manipulate public opinion.
The publication, the complainant said, was willfully published to bring the company’s name into disrepute.
On 26 July, managing editor Kouamavi Amouzouvi and editorial director Laurent Zankli made their first appearance in court. The court adjourned the case until 16 August, to enable SE2M to pay the court’s processing fees of 75,000 CFA (approx. US$145).
If found liable, the newspaper would pay a fine ranging between 500,000 CFA Francs (approx. US$950) and 1 million CFA Francs (approx. US$1,900).
Though claims to pecuniary compensations are legitimate options for institutions and persons whose names and image may be injured by libelous publications, MFWA believes that such claims ought not to be so punitive as to have a chilling effect on the media.
