Kweku Baako Sues Democrat

The Editor in Chief of the Crusading Guide newspaper, Kweku Baako Jnr has initiated legal action against the editors and publishers of ‘The National Democrat’, an Accra-based private newspaper. Those named in the writ as defendants are Sampson Twum, Acting Editor of the National Democrat, Demo Publications, the printers and or publishers of that paper and Nii Komiete Doku, publishers of the Defendant newspaper.

Kweku Baako is seeking damages for libel and an order restraining the defendants, their agents or otherwise, from further publishing and/or causing to be published any defamatory statements against his person.

The writ, which was filed on Kweku Baako Jnr’s behalf by an Accra legal firm, Kulendi @ Law on the 17th October 2003, commands the said defendants to enter appearance within eight days after the service of the writ or risk judgement being entered against them in default of appearance. The writ said Sampson Twum caused to be published articles on Kweku Baako in The Democrat.

The first was a front page commentary headed, “We are ready for Kweku Baako” which said, “Those who voted for Kweku Baako Jnr as ‘Journalist of the Year’ a couple of years ago have done the man a great disservice. For suddenly, the man thinks he is intelligent and knows everything. He thinks he is the only one who can get angry and use abusive words like nonsense on other people. Well, in the eyes of illiterates and semi-literates, he is a hero, but discerning people know that he is an ignoramus.

In the second publication, the paper said, “We hope we are not dealing with the Kweku Baako Jnr, who some years ago raped a young girl. We also hope that he is not the Kweku Baako Jnr who was rushed to the mental hospital some years ago after he (Kweku) had taken in enough ‘wee’”.

The third publication carried a photograph of Kweku Baako with the following inscription, “RAPIST! He defiled a small girl (parents must be careful of him). He calls others lunatics, so what will he call a man who smoked wee to rape a little girl. Go! Go! Kweku, Go to Court”.

Baako maintains that the statements means he is not qualified to be “Journalist of the Year”, he is a rapist, he is or was a mental patient and that he is a criminal and mad.