Agreement on Rawlings’ Book reached

Samuel Atta Akyea, counsel for former President Jerry John Rawlings – in a case in which the former president is seeking to place an injunction on the launching of a book by Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo, Ghana’s immediate past High Commissioner to the United Kingdom – has told an Accra Fast Track High Court that the final draft on the two parties’ agreement to settle the matter out of court, was almost ready.

He told the court, presided over by Justice L.L. Mensah, that the draft was ready except for some one or two paragraphs which needed to be looked at again.

Counsel for Rawlings consequently prayed the court to adjourn the matter for both parties to return to court on Friday, October 24, 2014 to finalize the out-of-court settlement.

The case has been consequently adjourned to the said date.

The professor was represented by Alex Quartey. Mr. Atta Akyea had told the court at the last hearing that they were close to settlement and asked for an adjournment.

The defendant wanted to launch a book entitled, “JJ Rawlings and the Democratic Transition in Ghana,” which the former president is seeking to have the court place an injunction on.

The book was initially scheduled to be launched on August 20, 2014, but Mr Rawlings wanted the event cancelled altogether, accusing Professor Danso-Boafo of bad faith for reneging on an earlier agreement reached on the book.

Mr. Rawlings, in his affidavit in support of the motion, stated that Prof. Danso-Boafo had undertaken to wait for him (Rawlings) to review the book and correct all factual inaccuracies in it but “has breached his own solemn undertaking with me and has published it with the view to launching it.”

The plaintiff believes the professor had not extended due courtesy due him relating to the said agreement and had only dropped a special invitation inviting him to the launch of the unapproved book.

The defendant, in his affidavit in opposition of Mr Rawlings’ claims, said the book was not intended to and does not bring Jerry Rawlings and his family into disrepute, but was rather authored from an “intellectual perspective and fair analysis of historical events which occurred during the plaintiff’s (Rawlings’) public life from military rule through transition to democracy and written in a very objective light.”

Prof. Danso-Boafo’s affidavit said the author, after completing the book, gave Jerry Rawlings a copy to proof read but the former president, after keeping the copy for well over two years, had not been able to point out a single sentence he finds unacceptable in the book.