Court awards MP GHS 700k in defamation case over WhatsApp allegations
By DL News
Published
1 min read
The case stemmed from comments made by the defendants on a WhatsApp group named “Assinman Politics Gh” in March 2024. Rev. Fordjour initiated legal action, claiming the remarks had seriously damaged his reputation.
The Cape Coast High Court has delivered judgment in favour of the Member of Parliament for Assin South, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, in a defamation case against two individuals, Stephen Cobbah (alias Adepa) and Yaw Korankye (alias Ampong).
He requested the court to declare the statements defamatory, award him GHS 1 million in damages, issue a perpetual injunction, and compel the defendants to retract the comments and issue a formal apology.
On Monday, April 28, 2025, the court ruled that the statements made by Cobbah and Korankye were defamatory. As a result, the court ordered them to jointly pay GHS 700,000 in damages and an additional GHS 20,000 each in legal costs.
In addition, the court imposed a permanent ban on the defendants from making any further defamatory remarks against the MP. It also mandated that the defendants publish an unreserved apology and a retraction of their statements on the “Assinman Politics Gh” WhatsApp group and any other platforms where the comments had appeared.
The ruling marks a notable development in the growing trend of legal accountability for defamatory remarks made on social media and messaging platforms, especially within politically charged environments.
