Rawlings book launch case adjourned

The case in which former President Jerry John Rawlings is seeking to restrain Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo, former Ambassador to the United Kingdom from launching a book on him has been adjourned to October 20.

Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, Counsel for the Ex- President had told the court that the parties are on the verge of settling the matter.

The case was therefore adjourned to enable parties complete their settlement process and announce the results before court presided over by Mr Justice L.L Mensah.

Prof Danso-Boafo, the defendant wanted to launch a book titled: “J. J. Rawlings and the Democratic Transition in Ghana,” which the former President is seeking to have the court place an injunction on.

Counsel for former President Rawlings had at the last hearing prayed the court to allow the parties’ time to explore an out-of-court settlement.

The book was initially scheduled for launch on August 20, but former President Rawlings wanted the event halted, accusing Prof Danso-Boafo of bad faith.

Former President Rawlings, in his affidavit in support of the motion, stated that Prof Danso-Boafo had undertaken to wait for him to review the book and correct all factual inaccuracies in it, but “has breached his own solemn undertaking with me and has published it with the view to launching it”.

The plaintiff believed the professor had not extended due courtesy to him relating to the said agreement and had only dropped a special invitation inviting him to the launch of the unapproved book.

The former ambassador, in his affidavit in opposition, said the book was not intended to and would not bring former President Rawlings and his family into disrepute.

According to him the book was rather authored from an “intellectual perspective and fair analysis of historical events which occurred during the plaintiff’s public life from military rule through transition to democracy and written in a very objective light”.

He contended that the plaintiff could not exhibit proof of a single page, which contains the alleged “several inaccuracies, misinformation and slants which has the potential to poison Ghana’s historical records and democratic evolution”.

The book, according to the author, was intended to “put in the public domain the holistic history of what happened in Ghana under the plaintiff’s rule as Head of State, matters which are of public interest, enquiry and debate”.