NANA YAW AGIRE AHOR II vs. ISAAC KWESI PANYIN AND 6 OTHERS [2016]DLCA5473

Date	2016-03-22
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. HI/22/16
Citation No.	[2016]DLCA5473

HONYENUGA J.A. (PRESIDING)

GYAN J.A.

SUURBAAREH J.A.

MR. RAPHAEL ALIJINA FOR THE DEFENDANTS/APPELLANTS

MR. ISHMAEL TURKSON FOR THE PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT

[2016]DLCA5473
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >NANA YAW AGIRE AHOR II<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>ISAAC KWESI PANYIN AND 6 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p>[COURT
OF APPEAL, CAPE COAST]<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. HI/22/16&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; 22ND MARCH, 2016<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:
115%;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>HONYENUGA, J.A.<o:p></o:p>This appeal
is by the defendants/appellants (hereinafter called the appellants) against the
Ruling of the High Court, Agona Swedru dated the 25th day of
September, 2015. The said court had dismissed the application by the appellants
to strike out the plaintiff/respondent’s action. The plaintiff/respondent would
be referred to as the respondent.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The facts
of this appeal were that the respondent is a businessman and the Gyasehene of
Gomoa Akramang. A letter written by the second appellant purportedly on behalf
of the people of Akramang was circulated to the Divisional Police Commander at
Agona Swedru, the District Police Commander at Kasoa and the District Chief
Executive at Gomoa Afransi. The respondent claiming that the letter was
defamatory of him caused the instant writ of summons to be filed against the
appellants jointly and severally as follows:-<o:p></o:p>“(a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General damages for
defamation against the 2nd defendant for writing a letter dated
6/1/2015 to the Omanhene of Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Area and copied to the
Police Agona Swedru, Kasoa and the DCE, Gomoa East District Assembly and also
carried by Peace FM on their peacefm.online.com on 2015-01-12 at 12:02:28 and
also carried by UTV in their News bulleting dated 14-12-14 that plaintiff among
other things has been making unauthorized sales of Gomoa Akramang lands, making
unnecessary arrests and assaults of the youth of Gomoa Akramang, had been making
indiscriminate felling of trees from the forest reserve of Gomoa Akramang, not
been accounting to the town’s revenue, was a land guard and had also brought
land guards to terrorize the people of the town a publication that the 2nd
defendant well knew at the time of publication to be untrue and only calculated
to tarnish the hardwon reputation of the plaintiff and also to reduce the
plaintiff in the estimation of right thinking members of the society and also
to make the plaintiff a subject matter of hatred, ridicule and contempt.<o:p></o:p>(b)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General damages for
defamation against the defendants for forming a group at Gomoa Akramang called
Arise and Shine group and on 14-12-14 at the old durbar grounds at Gomoa
Akramang and in the presence of the entire township hooted at the plaintiff’s
access to a meeting claiming that plaintiff was a chief, who sells peoples
lands, was a land guard who had sold Akramang forest and had been felling frees
in same a statement of defendants well knew at the time of publication to be not
only untrue but also calculated to reduce the esteem of the plaintiff in the
eyes of the right thinking members of the society and also make plaintiff a
subject matter of hatred, ridicule and contempt.<o:p></o:p>(c)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General damages against
the 2nd defendant for defamation for having for 3 days continuous
from 28-12-14 to 30-12-14 at Gomoa Akramang used a megaphone to the hearing of
the entire people of the town to announce that the plaintiff was no more a
chief at Gomoa Akramang and was also not a full citizen of Gomoa Akramang a
statement the 2nd defendant well knew at the time of publication not
only to be untrue but also calculated to lower the hardwon reputation of the
plaintiff and also to reduce the plaintiff in the estimation of right thinking
members of the society and also to make the plaintiff a subject matter of
hatred, ridicule and contempt.<o:p></o:p>(d)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An order to compel the 2nd
defendant to cause a retraction of the defamatory publication complained of by
the plaintiff in reliefs (a) and (c) of the particulars of claiming through the
same medium that the plaintiff is complaining of.<o:p></o:p>(e)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An order to compel the
defendants to retract the defamatory words complained of by the plaintiff in
relief (b) of the endorsement of plaintiff’s statement of claim by beating a
gong-gong continuously for a week as may be directed by the Honourable Court in
the Akramang township and also going to any local FM station around the
vicinity to cause an announcement to be made to retract those defamatory words
published of the plaintiff also for a week.<o:p></o:p>(f)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An order of perpetual
injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, personal representatives
etc. from further publishing those defamatory words being complained of by the
plaintiff.<o:p></o:p>The writ
was accompanied by a statement of claim. The appellants entered appearance and
instead of filing a statement of defence, they opted for the filing of a mot</main>