Defamation suit goes
against Mumuni
Abdul Salam Sule, Ghanadot
Accra, Feb 28, Ghanadot - Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni has lost a defamation suit
which he filed against the publishers of the Daily Guide newspaper for
publishing what he described as a false story against him.
The issue was a source of controversy during the minister’s vetting by the
Appointments Committee of Parliament, culminating in a walk-out by the Minority
during the vetting.
Although the Minority had asked for his vetting to be suspended to await for the
ruling on the case by the court, the Majority held that his application for
redress in court should not stall a parliamentary process.
A pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), had before the
vetting of Alhaji Mumuni, kicked against his nomination citing a purported
Auditor General’s report which it said established criminal conduct on his part.
In the said Auditor General's report, Alhaji Mumuni is said to have disbursed
unaccountable amounts of money to the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI)
when he was the Minister of State responsible for the Ministry of Employment and
Social Welfare from 1997 – 2001.
Counsel for Alhaji Mumuni argued in court that the newspaper defamed his client
in publishing the report.
But the court on Friday 27th February 2009 ruled that the paper was justified in
publishing the report and awarded a cost of GH¢4,000 against Alhaji Mumuni.
The court also held that Alhaji Mumuni had violated certain important financial
regulations and had failed to attach the budget “properly” to the application
for the release of the funds in question.
According to the court, he had also failed to seek parliamentary approval for
the monies in question.
But Alhaji Mumuni has described the court’s verdict as “an absolute surprise,”
saying he would appeal against the ruling.
“Given the kind of confidence that I have in the judicial system I have no doubt
that in the final analysis my rights will be vindicated and I will prevail,” he
said.
Ghanadot
