Kan-Dapaah’s GH¢10m defamation suit: Court throws out Barker-Vormawor’s dismissal application for a 2nd time

The High Court in Accra has reportedly thrown out an application by Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a member of the #FixtheCountry Movement, to dismiss the GH¢10 million defamation suit filed against him by the Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah.

This brings the number of times the court has dismissed his application on the matter to twice.

According to GHOne TV, the court, in addition to dismissing the application, on Friday, April 19, 2024, also slapped Barker-Vormawor with GH¢10,000 fine.

The court, in December 2023, threw out a similar application by Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a former lead convener of the #FixtheCountry Movement, to dismiss the GH¢10 million defamation suit against him.

Barker-Vormawor was slapped with a fine of GH¢3,000 when the court dismissed his dismissal application in December 2023.

In an affidavit in support of the motion on notice for an order to dismiss the suit, dated November 29, 2023, Barker-Vormawor, a private legal practitioner, argued that the minister cannot institute or conduct civil matters related to the functions he performs on behalf of the state.

He said that the alleged defamatory words were directed at the state or its functionaries and not personally at the minister.

He contended that the matters forming the basis of the defamation claims are exclusively linked to the minister's performance of state functions.

Kan-Dapaah filed a defamation suit against Barker-Vormawor after the latter claimed that National Security officials, including government representatives, met him in 2021 and offered him money to silence his activism.

The lawyer claimed that he was offered $1 million and lucrative government positions to cease his activities critical of the government.

BAI/AE

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