Nana Oye Bampoe Addo drags ex-husband to court in $1.5 million damages suit

A former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection under the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama government, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, has sued her ex-husband, Tony Lithur, for tarnishing her image both in Ghana and abroad.

According to a report by The Chronicle newspaper, the former minister is demanding general damages of US$500,000.00 and exemplary damages of US$1 million, from her ex-husband, who also serves as a lawyer to former President John Mahama.

The report indicated that this latest legal suit is from an “alleged malicious contents of the divorce petition Mr. Lithur filed on May 2, 2018, to put an end to their 27-year-old marriage."

According to Nana Oye, this has since caused her reputational damage.

She added that the divorce has also maliciously caused hatred, ridicule and public odium against her.

“The divorce petition, which was variously reported by the media, said the Plaintiff was lazy, irresponsible mother, adulterous, cruel and violent person, as well as engaged in acts that contradict her professional ethics as a human rights lawyer. These claims, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo says have maliciously injured her image.

“Nana Oye (Plaintiff) said Mr. Lithur’s (Defendant) claims could be understood that she is cruel and violent philanderer, adulteress, human rights violator, mean and wicked person and unfit to hold public office.

“In reference to the divorce petition, the former minister said her ex-husband accused her, as a human rights lawyer, of an act of cruelty and violence including pouring water, beating, slapping and using her fingernails to harm their domestic staff,” portions of the newspaper story said.

The following content are the remaining contents of the story published by The Chronicle newspaper on Tuesday, May 14, 2024:

The plaintiff also added that the claim by her ex-husband that she travelled to South Africa with an intention to buy an investment property between US$350,000 and US$500,000.00 as soon as leaving political office in 2017, could be inferred that she is not only corrupt but also abused her office to steal public money.

The suit, dated April 25, 2024 indicated that “Due to the false averments and publications of acquisition of investment property in South Africa by Defendant, the Office of the Special Prosecutor instituted investigations into corruption and corruption related offences, money laundering and illegal acquisition of property in South Africa against the Plaintiff, and Plaintiff was investigated and subsequently admitted to bail.

“The Office of the Special Prosecutor published a pending case against the Plaintiff and Plaintiff had to engage legal services to defend herself.”

Nana Oye stated that the Defendant published these defamatory words, knowing very well that it was not true, but with the sole intention to cause considerable damage to and to disparage her reputation.

According to her, the publication of the petition resulted in inundation of phone calls, insults and humiliation, avoiding certain public appearances, and quitting lecturing in some tertiary institutions.

Nana Oye said constantly she has to deal with answering embarrassing questions and humiliating treatments from strangers, associates, friends, family members, foreigners, some members of the international community, international acquaintances and colleagues.

The Plaintiff alleged that before the marriage went down the hill, the Defendant told her that he would destroy her reputation and would make sure that by the time he was through with her, there will be no reputation for her to cling on.

The Plaintiff, therefore, contends that Mr. Lithur acted deliberately and maliciously in publishing the said defamatory words, which he knew were false.

Furthermore, the Defendant sought to and deliberately published false averments in his divorce petition and reply to annihilate, malign and destroy Plaintiff’s reputation, her professional career in human rights and her public life.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lithur made the false claims when he knew there was no basis for the said defamatory statements and publications and he knew his averments and publications would be believed by the general public and beyond because of his stature as a senior lawyer.

Nana Oye is seeking four reliefs; including general damages of US$500,000.00 in respect of libel contents contained in paragraph 8 and 9, and exemplary damages of US$1,000,000.00 for libel contents in the defendant/petitioner’s reliefs.

She also wants a perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant jointly and severally “either by himself and or his assign(s) from further making any averments or publishing or causing to be published, the said defamatory words or similar words.”

The Plaintiff is seeking a retraction and apology to be published on social media including on Defendant’s Facebook wall, the website of Lithur Brew & Company, the Twitter (now X) and Instagram handles of Defendant, and all his social media handles and on the website of the GhanaWeb, together with the website of Joy FM, Peace FM and Citi FM.

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AE