The Member of Parliament for Tema West, Abraham Ossei-Aidoo, has filed a writ at a High Court in Tema against three members of the Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA).
The three assembly members are Richster Amarfio, Joseph Ashietey, aka Dalas, and Foster Bortey, who are also spokesmen and members of the ?Concerned members of NPP, Tema.?
The MP, who is also the deputy majority leader, is seeking punitive damages against the three for libel and is being represented by Modesta Kpoduvia of Nokware Chambers. The writ recaptured a news conference held by the concerned NPP members on 4 December 2002, on a supposed report by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on the Tema Municipal Chief Executive (MCE).
It said that the defendants at the said news conference falsely and maliciously published or caused to be published statements, which among others questioned why the target of the report did not receive a copy.
It also questioned ?why the SFO had not commented openly or contributed to the controversy of the said report,? and ?why the report was leaked out to the press on a weekend at a time to coincide with the President?s arrival in Tema.? The writ referred to the section of that publication labelled ?the unseen hands.?
The publication by the defendants stated that, ?we suspect certain elements for their personal and sectional interest to be manipulating certain persons to discredit the MCE. We see this as purely internal party wrangling that should not have gotten this far but we believe the MCE had been silent for far too long. We want to know from Mr Aidoo why his team and himself moved their meeting from Mr Tuyee?s residence to Mr Sarpong?s office? Did they not say the former is rather close to the MCE??
The writ noted that by the words complained on, ?the defendants meant and were understood to mean that the plaintiff (Hon Aidoo) is a parochial and self-seeking MP whose sole aim is to discredit the MCE by inducing the publication of an SFO report in the print media.?
It said the publication by the three assemblymen was deliberately to tarnish the MP?s reputation and to incite his constituents against him. This has ?greatly injured his reputation, discredited his character and has brought him into public ridicule, and contempt in view of the plaintiff?s position as the MP for Tema West,? it ended. The High Court is, however yet to fix a date for hearing to begin.
