An Accra Circuit Court has held six members of the Ghanaian rugby fraternity for allegedly falsifying news about Mr Herbert Mensah, the President of Africa Rugby.
They are Bismark Amponsah, 40, a teacher; Abdul Aziz Issah, 46, an Information Technology (IT) professional; Michael Ako Wilson, 34, a transport manager; James Nana Akwandoh Nunoo, 49, a teacher; Emmanuel Ekow Mensah,24, a surveyor and Alexandra Dorpenyo, 33, a plumber.
The six are facing a conspiracy charge to commit offensive conduct, that they have denied, and have been given GHC50,000.00 bail with three sureties each.
Issah was also charged with unlawful access or interception of information, while Wilson, Ekow Mensah, and Dorpenyo face an offensive conduct charge.
Nunoo was also charged with fraudulent communication, as was Amponsah, who is in another court for conspiring to commit money laundering with Nunoo.
Amponsah, Issah, Wilson, Nunoo, Ekow Mensah, and Dorpenyo have all denied the charges, and their next court appearance has been set for February 29, 2024.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Maxwell Oppong informed the Court presided over by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah that the complainant, Mr Mensah, is the President of Rugby Africa and lives in Osu, while the accused are all members of the Ghana Rugby fraternity.
He said that Amponsah, a General Secretary, Issah, a Board Member, Wilson, a Board Member, Nunoo, a Board Member, Ekow Mensah, a Rugby player, and Dorpenyo had all planned to spread false information and engage in a street protest to tarnish the image of Mr Mensah, who was the President of the Ghana Rugby Football Union at the time, due to a disagreement with him.
DSP Oppong said that as part of the accused’s preparations, they began to develop write-ups and uploaded them on their various Facebook pages to destroy the complainant’s image.
The court heard that those actions by the accused individuals prompted the complainant to seek an interlocutory injunction prohibiting them and their assigns from engaging in such an act.
However, the prosecution stated that the accused persons did not cease spreading disinformation about Mr Mensah, forcing him to file a case against Wilson at the Osu Police Station, and the matter is currently being heard by the La District Magistrate Court.
DSP Oppong stated that following the complainant’s action against Wilson, the accused persons resorted to creating multiple Facebook accounts with various articles about Mr Mensah and his counsel.
He said that Ekow Mensah and Dorpenyo had also posted several derogatory articles on their individual Facebook pages.
According to police, following an investigation, the suspects were charged with the offenses and brought before court.
