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The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, and Minister Designate for Employment and Social Welfare, E.T. Mensah, was yesterday given a devastating blow as an Accra Fast-Track High Court dismissed a suit he filed against DAILY GUIDE�s popular cartoonist, Akosua. The court, presided over by Justice Ofori Atta, said the cartoon was meant for humour but not to ridicule him. Justice Ofori Atta also stated that enough foundation had not been laid by the minister-designate in the case for him to conclude that the cartoon published in the August 30, 2006 edition of Daily Guide showing a sheep with tribal marks, following a man, said to be former President John Agyekum Kufuor, had done any damage to his reputation. In a judgment read in a case that had run for four years, the judge noted that to make someone liable for an action, some foundation must be laid to prove that something defamatory had been said, adding �there must be proof of special facts to infer special meanings in such cases�. According to him, apart from the facts and innuendos in the pleadings, there should be special facts linking him to the said publication to enable any reasonable person to make an inference that indeed, it was meant to damage his reputation since it was an image of a sheep and did not refer to him by name. The Judge said, �I have carefully read the pleadings and there were no special facts in it.� Justice Ofori Atta observed that it was during the cause of E.T. Mensah�s examination-in-chief and the evidence of his witnesses when he attempted to introduce a speech made by former President Kufuor in another publication. He noted that Godred Yeboah Dame, counsel for Western Publications, publishers of DAILY GUIDE, objected on grounds that it was part of their pleading and the court upheld it. In addition, the judge said �I hold that the evidence was devoid of facts for one to infer meaning into the cartoon� and quoted authorities to show that the lives of persons who offer themselves for public office are open to public scrutiny but was quick to say that it did not mean people could defame public office holders with impunity. On the evidence of both parties, he said while the plaintiff was of the opinion that the cartoon had caused damage to his reputation as a sheep represents sycophancy and a person who cannot think on his own, the Managing Director of DAILY GUIDE, Gina Ama Blay, in her evidence-in-chief said the cartoon did not refer to any person in particular, but was just to create humour. He said after taking a critical look at the face of E.T. Mensah and comparing it to the said sheep with the marks on its face, and standing on the Ningo Prampram Bridge where he is an MP, he could infer that it was the face of the plaintiff. However, he noted that the image of the sheep in the cartoon was ambiguous and while the plaintiff wants the court to believe it was meant to portray him as stupid, the defendants said the sheep was an image of humility and sacrifice. Justice Ofori Atta stated that in cases which are ambiguous, he would choose to believe that the cartoon was meant to create humour and went ahead to dismiss the application but awarded no costs against the plaintiff.