PROFESSOR E. O. ADEKOLU JOHN vs. UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES AND S. M. KUUIRE [2014]DLSC2938

PROFESSOR E. O. ADEKOLU JOHN vs. UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES AND S. M. K... [2014]DLSC2938

Date	2014-03-19
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/59/2013
Citation No.	[2014]DLSC2938

R. C. OWUSU (MS) JSC (PRESIDING)

J. V. M. DOTSE JSC

ANIN YEBOAH JSC

P.BAFFOE-BONNIE JSC

N.S. GBADEGBE JSC

A. F. YAKUBU ESQ. FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT /APPELLANT.

ALHAJI MOHAMMED SHAIBU ABDULAI ESQ. FOR THE DEFENDANTS /RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENTS.

[2014]DLSC2938
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >PROFESSOR E. O. ADEKOLU
JOHN<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>UNIVERSITY FOR
DEVELOPMENT STUDIES AND S. M.&nbsp; KUUIRE<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;[SUPREME COURT,
ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/59/2013&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;DATE: 19TH
MARCH, 2014<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>A. F.&nbsp; YAKUBU ESQ.&nbsp;
FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT /APPELLANT.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

ALHAJI
MOHAMMED SHAIBU ABDULAI ESQ. FOR THE DEFENDANTS /RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENTS.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: <o:p></o:p>R. C.&nbsp; OWUSU (MS) JSC (PRESIDING),
J. V. M.&nbsp; DOTSE JSC, ANIN YEBOAH JSC, P.BAFFOE-BONNIE
JSC, N.S. GBADEGBE &nbsp;JSC<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;border-right:none;
padding:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;border:none;
mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>JONES
DOTSE JSC:<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;On the 19th day of March, 2014,
this Court delivered judgment in this appeal wherein the appeal lodged by the
Plaintiff/Appellant/Appellant, hereafter referred to as the Plaintiff against
the decision of the Court of Appeal, dated 29th June, 2012, was
allowed in part.<o:p></o:p>By
that judgment, the Defendants/Respondents/Respondents hereafter referred to as
Defendants were ordered to pay to the plaintiff the following:<o:p></o:p>a.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GH¢5,000.00 damages for wrongful
termination<o:p></o:p>b.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GH¢20,000.00 damages for defamation<o:p></o:p>c.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GH¢2,000.00 as costs to the Plaintiff<o:p></o:p>We
now proceed to give our reasons for that judgment.<o:p></o:p>Thomas
Paine, in 1787 in one of his writings to “The
opposers of the Bank” wrote thus:-<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “An
insinuation, which a man who makes it does not believe himself, is &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; equal to lying. It is the cowardice of
lying. It unites the barest part of that &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; vice
with the meanest of all others. An open liar is a highwayman in his &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; profession, but an insinuating liar is a
thief skulking in the night.”<o:p></o:p>We
have decided to preface our judgment in this case by reference to the above
words of Thomas Paine because of the special circumstances of this case which
border on how the head of administration of one of the country’s public
universities threw caution to the winds in composing the contents of an
official memorandum to a senior member of the University. The contents of the
memorandum have not and could not be sustained and have been proven to have
been published falsely and with malice.<o:p></o:p>FACTS<o:p></o:p>The
plaintiff was at all material times that he commenced this action in the High
Court, Tamale, a Professor of Medicine and Head of the Department of Community
Medicine of the University For Development Studies, who are the 1st
Defendants/Respondents/Respondents, hereafter referred to as the Defendants.<o:p></o:p>The
Plaintiff’s case is simple. He contended that he was offered a contract
appointment as a Professor in the Department of Community Medicine with effect
from June 2005 to July 2009. He however contended that, by a further memorandum
from the office of the Vice-Chancellor dated 17th December 2007 his
appointment as Head of Department was extended from 1st January 2008
to 31st August, 2009.<o:p></o:p>However,
in a letter dated 13th March, 2009 signed by the 2nd Defendant,
Respondent/Respondent hereafter 2nd Defendant purporting to be
writing for and on behalf of the University Council informed the Plaintiff that
his contract will not be renewed when it expires.<o:p></o:p>The
Plaintiff however considered this letter of 13th March 2009 as ultra
vires, and the purported termination of his contract on the due date as
wrongful and unlawful and communicated his views to the 2nd
Defendant, the acting Registrar of the University through series of
correspondence.<o:p></o:p>The
2nd defendant in a memorandum dated 1st June 2009 in an
official communication described the plaintiff in parts of the memorandum as
follows:<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “You have carried your insanity to</main>