Defamatory Facebook Publication: Court orders man to pay GHC 100, 000 in damages

A High Court in Accra on October 26, 2021, ordered Francis Kennedy Ocloo to pay GHC 100,000 in damages for defamatory Facebook publication against Efua A.Sintim.

The Court presided over by His Lordship Justice Stephen Oppong also ordered the defendant to publish an unconditional and unqualified apology on his Facebook wall repeatedly for 30 consecutive days.

FACTS OF THE CASE

Defendant, a top social media influencer, made a series of posts on his Facebook wall from May 3 to 28, 2017.

In the posts, he described someone as a “bloodsucker Gey Hey female who uses her looks to extort money from unsuspecting men.”

Defendant never mentions Plaintiff’s name in any of the 10 Facebook posts. He however gave many particulars which, the Court found, led many Facebookers to conclude that Plaintiff was the person whom Defendant was referring to in the posts.

In its Judgment, the Court held that;

1. Defendant’s Facebook publications were defamatory.

2. Defendant’s publications were about Plaintiff.

Furthermore, it ordered Defendant, Francis Kennedy Ocloo to

1. Delete all the publications from Facebook and
2. Pay Ghc 10,000 in cost.

The defendant per his Counsel has meanwhile appealed the decision of the High Court.