The Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has initiated a civil suit against the Convener of the #FixTheCountryMovement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, for defamatory statements made against him.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah contends that the remarks uttered by Mr. Barker-Vormawor, claiming that he(Kan-Dapaah) offered him(Barker-Vormawor) $1 million and a government appointment to cease his activism, lack any supporting evidence and are intended to diminish him in the minds of right thinking members of society.
He is therefore requesting the court to compel Barker-Vormawor to issue an apology and retract the defamatory statements, along with a “permanent injunction restraining Barker-Vormawor from making similar or other statements against the plaintiff.”
Additionally, the Minister is seeking to recover a total of GH¢10 million in general damages, including aggravated and/or exemplary damages for defamation, as a result of the statements made by Mr. Barker-Vormawor.
Mr. Barker-Vormawor, in an interview with the media during a demonstration, claimed that government officials, including Mr. Kan-Dapaah, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and a Brigadier General, offered him and his group $1 million at a secure location to halt their activism.
This assertion was refuted by the Ministry of National Security.
Following the denial, Mr. Barker-Vormawor insisted on the existence of a recorded conversation with the Minister for National Security from a secret meeting that took place even before the first FixTheCountry protest in 2021.
He claimed, contrary to earlier assertions that it was at this meeting that the money was allegedly offered.
This prompted the Minister to institute the lawsuit against the FixtheCountry Convener.
According to the statement of claim submitted by the Minister’s legal counsel to the court, Barker-Vomawor had no basis whatsoever for the defamatory statements and demonstrated extreme recklessness by making them without any supporting evidence.
It was noted that the Minister had never engaged in any exclusive private meeting with Barker-Vomawor, either alone or with others, except for meetings involving other government officials and leaders of the FixtheCountry group.
The statement of claim added that “notwithstanding the fact that Kan-Dapaah has made it clear to Barker-Vomawor that the statements are false, the FixtheCountry convener has not offered Kan-Dapaah any apology or retraction” suggesting that Barker-Vomawor has failed to do so because he is indifferent to the truth and is simply reckless and malicious.
It further explained that as part of the discharge of his duties and in response to the continued agitations of the Group, Kan-Dapaah in or about 2021 invited the conveners of the Group to a meeting at his Ministry to give them audience in the interest of peace and stability of the state.
It noted that the meeting ended cordially and it was suggested that another meeting be convened where the Minister for Finance will be present to comment on some of the Economic and Financial issues raised by the Group.
It bears emphasising that Barker-Vomawor was not present at this meeting.
After this first meeting Kan-Dapaah was approached by a high ranking Military Officer (“the Officer”) who proposed to Kan-Dapaah that Barker-Vomawor was his colleague lecturer at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and thus he could arrange for the attendance of Barker-Vomawor at the next meeting with the Group which was to be scheduled.
Kan-Dapaah accepted that proposal and the officer immediately contacted the Barker-Vomawor via a phone call to facilitate the scheduling of the second meeting between the Ministry and the Group.
Kan-Dapaah confirmed on the Officer’s phone to Barker-Vomawor his willingness to meet with him and the Group together with the Minister for Finance.
Barker-Vomawor in turn requested the Officer also to be in attendance at the meeting.
A second meeting was accordingly conducted at the Ministry with Kan-Dapaah, the Minister of Finance and the Officer in attendance while Barker-Vomawor attended the meeting with some members of the Group.
T h e second meeting, as the first meeting, was also cordial and frank and it was agreed that the Group would submit its concerns in writing for further engagement with government. Kan-Dapaah says emphatically that at both meetings no inducements of any sort were offered or threat of any sort made to Barker-Vomawor and/or any member of the Group as alleged or at all.
