- High Court imposes GH₵3,000 cost on Asiedu Nketia
- NDC Chairman omitted crucial witness in defamation case
- Case adjourned to April 3, 2025, for continuation
The High Court in Accra has imposed a GH₵3,000 cost on Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), for failing to include a key witness in a defamation case.
Former Auditor-General, Professor Edward Dua Agyeman, filed a defamation suit against Nketia, widely known as General Mosquito, in 2018, seeking GH₵20 million in damages. The case revolves around claims made by Nketia about the plaintiff’s professional conduct.
During the proceedings, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, who presided over the matter, granted Asiedu Nketia’s request to amend his pre-trial checklist, allowing the inclusion of a previously omitted “necessary witness.” However, due to this oversight, the court imposed a GH₵3,000 cost on the NDC chairman.
On February 19, 2025, Tonny Nyarko, representing Nketia, presented a motion to amend their earlier documents. “My Lady, we have an application for leave to amend the pre-trial checklist, which was filed on the 13th of February 2025 and is fixed for hearing today,” Nyarko told the court.
He further explained that, while reviewing their case, it was brought to their attention that they had inadvertently excluded Brian Anku Sapati, a crucial witness, from the pre-trial checklist, despite having filed a notice of subpoena for him on October 29, 2024.
“We filed the present application for leave to amend the pre-trial checklist pursuant to Order 16 Rule 7 of C.I. 47, which concerns the amendment of other documents,” Nyarko said, emphasizing that the amendment was necessary to present the full scope of their case and meet court requirements for the Case Management Conference.
Nyarko reassured the court that the amendment would not cause surprise to the plaintiff, as a notice of subpoena for Sapati had already been filed. He asked the court to grant leave to amend the pre-trial checklist in the form outlined in Exhibit ‘J1.’
Nana Bayin Ackon, acting on behalf of Gary Nimako Marfo, the counsel for Prof. Dua Agyeman, had no objections to the motion, stating, “We leave it with the determination of the Court.”
Justice Kocuvie-Tay, after hearing the submissions, granted the application for leave and imposed a cost of GH₵3,000 against Nketia. “Application is granted as prayed,” the judge ruled, also stating, “Costs of GH₵3,000 is awarded against the Defendant/Applicant (Asiedu Nketia) in favor of the Plaintiff/Respondent (Prof. Edward Dua Agyeman).”
The case was adjourned to April 3, 2025, for continuation. Neither Prof. Dua Agyeman nor Nketia was present in court for the proceedings.
Reliefs Sought by Prof. Dua Agyeman
Prof. Agyeman is seeking several declarations from the court, including a ruling that Nketia’s claims made during a Neat FM broadcast, where he alleged that the plaintiff had been banned by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana) for producing fake audit reports, were defamatory.
He also seeks a declaration that Nketia’s statements about the plaintiff’s involvement in concocting fake audit reports that led to the dismissal of senior officers from public service were slanderous and made without reasonable cause.
The plaintiff is further requesting an injunction to prevent Nketia and his associates from making further defamatory statements about him. A retraction and unqualified apology, to be broadcasted on Neat FM and published in four editions of the Daily Graphic, are also being sought.
In addition, Prof. Agyeman is demanding GH₵20 million in general and compensatory damages for the damage to his reputation caused by the defamatory remarks.
