The Asawase Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. Muntaka Mubarak, is suing Daily Guide newspaper for publishing that he has taken a 17-year-old girl to the altar.
The lawmaker is seeking GH�600,000 in damages for libel and malicious falsehood contained in the 14th May 2012 edition of the Daily Guide and News-One newspaper publications circulated by the defendants to the millions of their readers for profit and which also appeared on the Electronic media.
He is also praying the court to restrain Daily Guide from any further publications of the defamatory matter and to also apologize following the publication that he married the girl who is a Senior High School graduate, as his second wife, at a ceremony at the Kumasi Central Mosque.
A copy of the writ of summons in peacefmonline.com's possession named the defendants as Morgan Owusu, a reporter of Daily Guide; Fortune Alimi, Editor of Daily Guide; Halifax Ansah, Editor of News-One newspaper and Western Publications Limited, publishers of the Daily Guide newspapers.
Speaking in an interview on the Citi Eye Witness News, Counsel for the Asawase MP, Sampson Ladi said: �a good name is better than riches. All a man has got for himself is a good name and we live in a democracy of the rule of law�my client feels very bruised and hurt�he finds the publication very defamatory and that is why he is taking such an action; to seek for justice and to repair his image� We hope that the court will help my client to repair his image that has been recklessly damaged.�
According to him, his client is married but not to a minor as being alleged. To him, his client has every right to marry and that is exactly what has transpired.
Meanwhile, Fortune Alimi, Editor of the Daily Guide newspaper claims he has not been served yet with the writ of summons, adding that if evidence is brought indicating that the lady is not 17 years old, he is ready to render an apology.
�I have not been served with any writ and I am even surprised to hear it on air�If indeed he is going to court, I am not afraid of meeting him in court. This was information we had and we put out there. If there is enough evidence to suggest that the lady is not 17 years old, why not? To err is human�� Fortune Alimi said.
Source: Rebecca Addo-Tetteh/Peacefmonline
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