Settlement talks revived in Martha Ankomah defamation suit against Lil Win
By DL News
Published
2 min read
When the matter came up before the High Court in Accra, lawyers for Lil Win told the court that their client remains willing to resolve the dispute out of court.
Fresh efforts are being made to settle the GH¢5 million defamation case between actress Martha Ankomah and Kumawood actor Kwadwo Nkansah, known as Lil Win, without a full trial.
When the matter came up before the High Court in Accra, lawyers for Lil Win told the court that their client remains willing to resolve the dispute out of court.
Defence counsel, Margaret Adjei-Twum, told the new trial judge, Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul Basit, that although an earlier settlement process broke down, the defendant is still open to a negotiated resolution.
She said the parties had now identified a mutually respected person to help mediate.
The suit was filed by Martha Ankomah over comments allegedly made by Lil Win in public, which she says were defamatory.
An earlier attempt to settle the case had stalled after the parties reportedly agreed in principle on terms, but the defendant failed to sign the final settlement document. That left the case to continue in court.
At the latest hearing, defence lawyers also informed the court that attempts to move the case to Kumasi had failed at both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
They said, however, that the matter is now before the Supreme Court, where an application for stay of proceedings is pending, with an appearance date set for 31 March.
Lawyers for Martha Ankomah, led by Nii Appatu-Plange, argued that the case is already part-heard and should proceed. They said the business before the court was to adopt the proceedings taken before the previous judge and continue with the matter.
The defence opposed that course, arguing that the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings could affect the direction of the case, including whether it may eventually be heard by a different court.
Plaintiff’s counsel, however, maintained that the pendency of a stay application does not automatically prevent the High Court from continuing its work.
He argued that the case, which has been pending since 2022, should move forward in the interest of justice and speedy trial, adding that an indefinite adjournment would unfairly prejudice the plaintiff.
After hearing both sides, Justice Abdul Basit adjourned the case to 14 April for the parties to indicate whether they have reached a settlement or whether the matter should proceed.
