Court bailiffs say they have been unsuccessful in effecting service of summons on the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, in the case brought against him by the suspended General Secretary of the party, Kwabena Agyapong.
Mr. Agyapong on November 7, issued a defamatory suit at the Kumasi High Court against Mr. Antwi-Boasiako claiming GHC400,000 in damages.
The Regional chairman, who is popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, was required to have entered appearance in the case eight days after service of the suit on him but court bailiffs told the Court Wednesday that he has been evading service for the past week.
The development has compelled lawyers for Mr. Kwabena Agyapong to secure a substituted service order against Mr. Wontumi.
Per the order issued Wednesday, November 15, 2017, bailiffs are required to within 14 days, served the suit and all other processes in the case on Mr. Wontumi by posting a copy on the notice board of the High Court and Circuit Court in Kumasi, as well as the Ashanti Regional Headquarters of the NPP in Kumasi.
“Once that is done, it will be deemed that he [Chairman Wontumi] has been served,” a member of Mr. Agyapong’s legal team Osbourne Fredua told 3News.
The Court will proceed to enter default judgement against Mr. Wontumi should he fail to enter appearance after the substituted service is effected.
Background
Mr. Agyapong sued Chairman Wontumi his demand for an apology from the defendant for defaming him was apparently rejected.
According to Mr. Agyapong, Chairman Wontumi slandered him when the latter claimed he “stooped so low” and collected a plush car from Ibrahim Mahama to work against the NPP’s presidential interest.
He said the statement was “absolute false” which was “diabolically made” to tarnish his image in the right thinking members of the society, but the chairman has refused to “show remorse”.
As the last resort, Mr. Agyapong filed a suit at the High Court in Kumasi against Chairman Wontumi and Multimedia Group Limited’s Nhyira FM as the first defendant and second defendants respectively.
The statement, the writ said, also “portrays the plaintiff as a greedy and selfish man who for his own selfish gain will sell out the political success of an entire NPP for a vehicle.”
According to the plaintiff, the statement has cast doubt on his loyalty to the party at a time a section of party supporters are campaigning to get him reinstated. Kwabena Agyapong said the statement by the first defendant has “grossly affected his reputation” and he is therefore seeking several reliefs including solicitors fees.
“An order of the court compelling the first defendant to write a letter personally addressed to the plaintiff admitting his comments were untrue and unfortunate and given his tacit commitment never again to spew such falsehood and scandalous defamatory remarks on the person of the plaintiff.
“An order of the court compelling the first defendant to pay an amount of GHC400, 000 as punitive and exemplary damages to the plaintiff as damages for the defamatory comments he (the first defendant) said about the plaintiff.”
He also prayed to the court to compel the second defendant to daily play the retraction of the defamatory comments by the first defendant for a continuous period of one year the date of judgment and to never permit the making of such slanderous and unsubstantiated remarks by persons of the sort of the first defendant.
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana