Oslo scandal: Shirley Ayorkor sues Africawatch, Samuel Okudzeto over defamation

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Shirley Ayorkor Botchway has sued Africawatch magazine over a defamatory story published in its magazine accusing her of inflating of over 16 million dollars for the purchase of a building in Oslo, Norway.

The foreign minister also sued Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for republishing the defamatory matter on Facebook which has since generated various comments.

The plaintiff who is represented by lawyer Gary Nimako is demanding a sum twenty million United States dollars for loss of reputation against the defendants as compensation.

She is also demanding order of court directed at the Defendants to retract the said defamatory publication and render unqualified apology in the same prominence as the defamatory publication.

The Africawatch magazine made this publication in its June edition cover with the caption “Ghana exclusive: the inside story if the Oslo sacndal conspiracy to steal, Ayokor Botchwey’s lies exposed, Nana Akufo-Addo’s defense falls flat”.

This publication, according to the plaintiff intends to tarnish her hard-won reputation, the reason she has decided to sue the Africawatch magazine and its editor for defamation.

In December 2018, it was reported that the ministry of foreign affairs had inflated the price of a building it supposedly bought in Oslo, Norway for use as Ghana’s embassy.

The property, according to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who is a ranking member for the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament was purchased at a cost of $12.1 million instead of $3.5million. The foreign Minister later indicated that the said property is yet to be purchased and that discussions are still underway after the Minority accused her of inflating the figures of the property.

However, in June 2019, Africawatch published a story regarding the said issue on its cover page accusing the minister of conspiring to steal. The minister has therefore sued the African Watch Magazine and it’s the editor who resides in the United States for defamation.

A part of the suit stated: “The defendants’ suggestion that I have inflated the cost of the property without any shred of correlative evidence to that effect amounts to an imputation of crime and same is defamatory of my character”.

“The defamatory statement that I have conspired to steal from the state when a reading of the entire article does not show how I conspired to steal from the state amounts to imputation of crime and same is defamatory”.