Kofi Wayo Sues Energy Minister & Others

Mr. Charles Kofi Wayo, firebrand politician and thorn in the flesh of the ruling NPP, has filed a libel suit at the High Court against the Minister of energy, Hon Albert Kan Dapaah, his special assistant, Mr. Kwame Owusu, the editor of the “Evening News” newspaper, Mr. Francis Assuah, and the management of the New Times Corporation.

The Nima Boy is seeking for general damages for defamation and perpetual injunction against the defendants restraining them from further publication of any defamatory matters against the plaintiff. The suit was in respect of the Evening News front page banner headline “Kofi Wayo Exposed-He Wanted to Be Made TOR Chief Executive”, which appeared in the issue of February 20, 2002.

The statement of claim dated June 7, 2002, and filed at the High Court on June 24, 2002, with reference number 139/2002, described the plaintiff, Mr. Wayo as an accomplished businessman with vast business interests in the US and some parts of Europe, and as an aggressive and celebrated national politician. It stated that the third defendant, Mr. Francis Assuah, the editor of Evening News published a highly provocative and defamatory matter on the plaintiff Mr. Kofi Wayo and attributed the story to the first defendant Hon. Kan Dapaah. According to the claim, the story went further to say that the first defendant said the plaintiff is empty and not practical and that after examining the plaintiff’s credentials and probing into his background, he (the first defendant) had realized that the plaintiff is an arms dealer with no background on energy.

It stated that the entire publication is not only highly defamatory but is also malicious and capable of destroying the plaintiffs political and business career, since the first defendant is aware that the plaintiff is the official representative of the Oil Producers Refineries (OPAR) of Illinois, USA, and acts on the instructions of the president of OPAR. The plaintiff submitted a bid for Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and is exploring business and other investment opportunities in Ghana and Africa for OPAR.

The Plaintiff therefore stated that such a publication implied that the plaintiff has abandoned the cause of OPAR or other investors whose interests the plaintiff may directly or indirectly be representing and thus causing the plaintiff grievous political, economic and moral loss especially as he is a politician and was a parliamentary candidate in the last elections and has political ambitions one of which is to contest the next elections. Thus the publication in question is an effective and direct message to the plaintiff’s constituency and his supporters in general that he has abandoned politics.

The Special Assistant to the Energy Minister, Mr. Kwame Owusu told a local FM station (Peace FM) that his boss, Mr. Kan Dapaah has not received any writhe of summon from the lawyers of Mr. Kofi Wayo.