Civil society bribery case in hide-and-seek: Barker-Vormawor evades bailiffs, Kan-Dapaah applies to use substituted service
Albert Kan-Dapaah filed a defamation suit against Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the convenor of #FixTheCountry, over a $1 million bribery claim
The Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has filed an application at the high court praying for an order to allow him to use substituted service to serve Oliver Barker-Vormawor, after several failed attempts by bailiffs to present court documents to the #FixTheCountry campaigner.
Kan-Dapaah filed a defamation suit against Barker-Vormawor, a convenor of #FixTheCountry, over claims Barker-Vormawor made to the effect that the National Security Minister had offered him a bribe of US$1 million by way of inducement for his movement, #FixTheCountry, to stop its demonstrations against the government.
Kan-Dapaah’s ex-parte motion, which was filed on 19 October, is expected to be moved in court on Friday 27 October 2023 by the lawyer for the minister, Bright Okyere Agyekum.
In an accompanying affidavit in support of his motion, Kan-Dapaah asserts: “It has not been possible to effect service personally on the defendant (Oliver Barker-Vormawor) with the writ of summons and statement of claim and it has become impracticable to do so as I do not know the place of abode of the defendant and attempts to effect service on him at his place of work as I know, has also proved unsuccessful.”
In his affidavit, Mr Kan-Dapaah also expressed the belief that “the defendant can be reached by posting/leaving copies of the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim at the following places:
“(a) On the Notice Board of this Honourable Court to remain for a period of 14 days and
“(b) per single publication in the Daily Graphic.”
Background
On 26 September 2023, Albert Kan0Dapaah instructed his counsel to issue a writ of summons and statement of claim against Oliver Barker-Vormawor for comments he made about the National Security Minister.
The comments by Baker-Vormawor that the National Security Minister considers defamatory are as follows:
“They went as far as offering us US$1 million; they offered us a committee appointment, set up a committee and appoint us to government positions in order to stop this activism,” Barker-Vormawor said.
“This was made directly to me and other leaders of Fix the Country Movement. This conversation we had with the Minister of National Security, the Minister of Finance, and a Brigadier General at a safe home,” Barker-Vormawor further alleged.
Albert Kan-Dapaah is praying the court for “a declaration that the words uttered by the defendant and particularised above or words to that effect are defamatory of the plaintiff”.
Second, he is seeking “recovery of the sum of ten million Ghana cedis (GHC10,000,000) as general damages including aggravated and/or exemplary damages for defamation for the words uttered by defendant”.
Third, the minister demands “an apology for and retraction of the words complained of and fourthly, a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from repeating similar or other defamatory words against the plaintiff”.
Finally, he prays the court for costs.
