Ursula sues A-Plus

Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has sued controversial musician, Kwame Asare Obeng, aka A-Plus, for defaming her.

In the suit filed by her lawyer Gary Nimako Marfo at an Accra High Court, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful prayed the court for an interlocutory injunction to restrain A-Plus and his assigns from making further “defamatory comments” about her.

This follows the refusal of the vocal musician to retract and apologize for allegedly suggesting that she was involved in some corrupt deals at the Communications Ministry.

A-Plus allegedly used his Facebook platform to accuse the minister of engaging in shady deals with regards to the Kelni GVG contract which has generated a lot of controversy.

Discussions on the contract were gaining momentum until Kwesi Nyantakyi, President of the Ghana Football Association, was arrested by the police for allegedly using the names of the President and his Vice to secure contracts.

A-Plus, in a post on Facebook, said, “Kwesi Nyantakyi is only being sacrificed to cover up the $89/178 million Kelni GVG stinking scandal.”

Apology

The Communications Minister, who took exception to the post, asked the musician to retract the ‘defamatory’ comments and apologise.

“We are instructed to notify you that our client takes a serious view of your defamatory publication on Facebook and would not hesitate to commence legal action against you if the said publication is not retracted on or before June 1, 2018.

“We are also instructed to notify you to render an unqualified apology in the same medium and prominence in the manner that your libelous publication was done,” a precautionary letter to A-Plus stated.

However, the musician blatantly ignored the warning and made further defamatory statements on Facebook.



A-Plus alleged, “If I apologise, Nimokafui and Ayetefrem and chalabim and Salafim should kill me. You think this is 2017. I only helped you to win power. I’m not part of your nonsense. I’m not afraid of anyone. Not a single soul. I’m wild like a lion!!! Bring it on. You’ll be humiliated.” Thieves!!! Bunch of f-king thieves.

Notice

Francis Asenso-Boakye, a Deputy Chief of Staff has also threatened to sue A-Plus if he fails to apologise by close of the week over similar allegations.

It follows a letter sent to him recently by lawyers for Francis Asenso-Boakye, demanding an apology and retraction.

The letter issued and signed by Lawyer Samson Lardy Anyenini, insisted that A-Plus has maliciously waged a sustained crusade against his client, Asenso-Boakye, with the intent to damage his reputation using social media in particular.

He claimed with impunity that A-Plus disregarded the outcome of lawful, constitutional, official and quasi-judicial processes that discredited his allegations and gave the Deputy Chief of Staff a clean bill of health.

Lawyers for Asenso-Boakye said the musician has recently resumed his campaign after police commenced investigations into alleged criminal conduct of President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi.

According to them, “You [referring to A-Plus] have since authored and circulated a series of statements and referred to our client as being ‘corrupt’ among other defamatory claims directly and by innuendo obvious to your audience, and that said falsehood maliciously publicized attracted and continue to attract similar damaging comments from your audiences and as far as those defamatory statements have been circulated and republished.”

Asenso-Boakye took exception to the said statements, including one dated May 23rd 2018.



The Deputy Chief of Staff, therefore, demanded an unequivocal and unconditional retraction and apology from A-Plus within seven days.

His lawyers asked him to give the apology and retraction the same publicity and prominence as the defamatory statements.

Samson Lardy Anyenini added that “we have his firm instructions to, without further notice to you and upon your failure, neglect or refusal to fully satisfy our client’s demand herein, take out a suit and hold you.”