(MFWA/IFEX) – On 21 July 2006, the President of the Musicians’ Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Alhaji Sidiku Buari, filed a suit against Compuprint Ltd, publishers of the bi-weekly newspaper “People & Places (P&P)”, and its editor Joris Jordan Duodoo for alleged defamation. Alhaji Buari, a musician and also the acting chairman of the board of […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 21 July 2006, the President of the Musicians’ Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Alhaji Sidiku Buari, filed a suit against Compuprint Ltd, publishers of the bi-weekly newspaper “People & Places (P&P)”, and its editor Joris Jordan Duodoo for alleged defamation.
Alhaji Buari, a musician and also the acting chairman of the board of the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA), is demanding 2 billion cedis (approx. US$225,000) in damages.
In addition, the plaintiff is seeking an injunction to stop the newspaper from further publishing the allegedly libellous material.
The 6-10 July edition of “P&P” published a story about an emergency COSGA board meeting which, according to the newspaper, became nasty due to the inability of Alhaji Buari to account for the Association’s funds. It also carried another story in the 9-13 July edition, in which a Kumasi-based musician accused the MUSIGA boss of misappropriating World Bank funds meant for the music industry.
These two articles, the writ said, were not only malicious but also scandalous and had injured the reputation of Alhaji Buari, who is also a vice president of the International Federation of Musicians, thereby exposing him to public ridicule.
In a separate development on 21 July, Accra-based lawyer Kwaku Kyeremanteng filed a suit against the same newspaper, “P&P” and its editor, Joris Jordan Duodoo, for two stories which allegedly accused Kyeremanteng of having employed two assailants to murder Abdul Aziz Haruna.
Kyeremanteng is seeking 500 million cedis (approx. US$56,000) in damages.
MFWA is dismayed by the increasing tendency of individuals and sometimes government officials to take legal action and claim huge damages for alleged defamation. MFWA is concerned that these claims if granted by the courts could have the effect of jeopardizing the very survival of the affected newspapers.
