WALTER DONA SAH - PLAINTIFF vs. ROSE OWUSU - DEFENDANT
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP MRS. PATIENCE MILLS -TETTEH J
Areas of Law
- Tort Law
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case involves a defamation claim by the plaintiff, an internal audit manager, against the defendant, head of Procurement at Metro Mass Transit Limited, who accused him of sexual harassment. The court found that the defendant's accusations were justified and constituted a valid defense under qualified privilege. The plaintiff's defamation claims were dismissed, and the court awarded damages to the defendant for sexual harassment, instructing the plaintiff to send a written apology and cease any informal relations with the defendant.
The plaintiff, a male co-worker of the defendant and the internal audit manager of Metro Mass Transit Limited instituted this action against the defendant the head of procurement Unit in the same Company.
The plaintiff alleged that he had been defamed by the defendant who had falsely accused him of sexual harassment in a letter written by the defendant to management and copied to other heads of the Company.
The plaintiff has denied sexually harassing this co-worker /defendant, implying that her publication is not justified and without any legal basis or excuse, because the conduct of the defendant has been receptive to whatever conduct the plaintiff might have put up and which conduct the defendant is now referring to as sexual harassment.
The plaintiff is alleging that the defendant has accepted a close relationship with him even though the defendant is a married woman.
Plaintiff has admitted having several dinners and lunches with the defendant, he has admitted having these lunches not only at business meetings but also after other private meetings as well, he has admitted picking the defendant to Korlebu on a weekend, and to top it all he has also admitted a transfer of GHC200 into the bank account of the mother of the defendant to resolve a financial need of the defendant.
The inference is that the alleged official misconduct of the plaintiff complained of by the defendant has been reciprocated by the defendant in the past until the defendant was handed over her transfer letter.
The plaintiff, in effect, admitted he had quite a close relationship with the defendant but with her consent and therefore the defendant is confronted with the herculean task of proving that her letter written to management alleging plaintiff’s sexual misconduct, is justified or that under qualified privileged she has a right so to do in the action filed on 9/1/15 by the plaintiff with the following reliefs; a. A declaration that the conduct of the defendant and the use of the words complained of are defamatory b. Damages for defamation c. An order directed at the defendant to render an unqualified apology to the plaintiff d. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, her privies and agents from further defaming the plaintiff DEFAMATION AS DEFINED UNDER OUR LAW In Ghana a person’s reputation is protected under three legal regimes; customary law, common law and the 1992 constitution.
Articles 21 (1) (a), 162 (6) and 165 of the 1992 Constitution constituti