GH¢20m Defamation Suit: Former A-G ‘reports’ Asiedu Nketiah for campaigning despite telling court he is unwell

A lawyer of former Auditor-General Prof. Dua Agyeman, Nanabanyin Ackon, reported the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, to the court during proceedings on the GH¢20 million defamation suit against the NDC chairman on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

According to a report by onuaonline.com, Nanabanyin Ackon told the High Court in Accra that the NDC National Chairman has deliberately been flouting its order to appear before it.

He said that despite Asiedu Nketiah telling the court that he is unwell, he has been seen campaigning at several campaign events of his party, including its National Campaign launch in Tamale, which was held on Saturday, July 27, 2024.

He, therefore, called on the court to summon Asiedu since his previous orders to get him to appear before it had not been respected.

“My lord, it is important to indicate that the same person who has indicated that he is unwell has been spotted on different occasions on party campaign grounds, specifically on the 10th, 19th, and 24th of July 2024 after this court granted an excuse for him to appear in this court.

“My lord, on the background of this submission, we would like to pray the court that the subpoenaed witness, having been unable to appear before this court after two adjournments already, my lord will make an order that the defendant himself, who is a witness in this matter, proceed to mount the box and testify on the next adjourned date and thereafter if they still deem it fit to call this other witness on subpoena, they can proceed to do so. We believe that at this stage, enough is enough,” Nanabanyin Ackon, who was holding brief for lawyer Gary Nimako, is quoted to have said.

The counsel for the NDC Chairman, Tony Nyarko Acheampong, however, refuted the claim that his client was deliberately ignoring the order of the court to appear before it.

He said that the claim by the lawyer for the former Auditor-General was baseless and challenged him to provide evidence of it.

“My lady, respectfully, we submit that the defendant, contrary to what counsel has just told the court, has not made any appearance anywhere as he has refused to place any evidence to that effect. The court has only one duty to administer justice and does so fairly without sentiments invoked by counsel in the matter. If they said they saw him, the appropriate thing to have done is to provide evidence before this court.”

The court in July 2024 gave lawyers for Asiedu Nketiah 24 hours to file a medical excuse, justifying why their client failed to appear in court to defend himself in a GH¢20 million defamation case.

The lawsuit by Prof. Dua Agyeman pertains to statements made by Asiedu Nketiah in the media, alleging that the former Auditor-General produced fake audit reports, which led to his dismissal by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG).

Asiedu Nketiah has not appeared in court since the case commenced in October 2018. He was scheduled to open his defence on Monday, July 1, 2024, but he failed to show up, citing illness.

The High Court judge presiding over the case, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay ordered his lawyers to produce a medical excuse within 24 hours to substantiate their claim.

Following the court's directive, Prof. Dua Agyeman remarked, "That is what they do. They lie and then run away from their lies."

BAI/NOQ

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