ERIC BOTCHWAY v. EMMANUEL MODEY AND ANOTHER

F.G. KORBIEH, J.A.

The plaintiff/respondent herein was at all material times the Finance Officer of the Hohoe Municipal Assembly.

He also described himself as being a member of the board of directors of the Anfoega Senior High School as well as belonging to Club 100, a Development Club of Anfoega.

He instituted this action against the defendants/appellants herein for the following reliefs:

1. Exemplary and punitive damages of GH¢500,000.00 damages jointly and severally for the libelous words, statements and materials maliciously printed and published and circulated in the Daily Graphic of Monday, the 25th day of April, 2011 and on Tuesday, the 7th day of June, 2011.

2. A public apology in a manner agreeable to the plaintiff for the publication of the said offensive and malicious material concerning the plaintiff.

3. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and each of them whether by themselves, their agents, servants or otherwise from further publishing or causing to be published the said words or similar words defamatory of the plaintiff.

In a statement of claim that he later amended, the plaintiff/respondent (hereinafter simply referred to as the plaintiff) had averred (among other things) that the 1st defendant/appellant was a reporter and an employee of the 2nd defendant/appellant and that the two had maliciously published very libelous falsehoods about him to the effect that he and others had mismanaged and embezzled public funds and that he was not a person fit to hold office as a Finance Officer of the Assembly.

He had further averred that the defendants’ false statements had been calculated to disparage him in his calling as a Finance Officer and he had not been held culpable by any committee report of the allegations published by the defendants.

In their amended statement of defence, the defendants had admitted publishing the articles complained of by the plaintiff but had pleaded that the words used in the plaintiff’s pleadings had been paraphrased and not the actual words published by the defendants; averring that the publication was a true reflection of a press conference organized by a group called the Concerned Citizens of Hohoe directed at the Municipal Security Committee to investigate the alleged mismanagement of new road equipment by three persons including the plaintiff.

They had also averred that the plaintiff and the two other officers of the Assembly under whose watch the equipment were put to use with