Minority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri Frank Annoh-Dompreh has filed a defamation suit against the Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboa, over comments allegedly linking him to cocoa smuggling activities involving Côte d’Ivoire.
The suit, filed at the High Court, is also directed at GhanaWeb Accra for republishing the alleged remarks made on April 28, 2026.
According to the Statement of Claim issued by counsel Daniel Martey Addo Esq., the plaintiff contends that the comments made by the Bono Regional Minister were “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
The statement attributed to the minister alleged that Mr. Annoh-Dompreh, during a cocoa farm visitation, encouraged cocoa buyers that “when the government funds are released, they should ensure they take all of those monies into Côte d’Ivoire to purchase Ivorian cocoa and bring them to Ghana, just to make the government look bad.”
The minister further claimed that intelligence gathered by his office led to the interception of more than 100 bags of cocoa allegedly being smuggled into the country, stating: “I tasked the security officers and brought in the COCOBOD anti-smuggling team. And thanks be to God, we have intercepted more than 100 bags of cocoa that were being transported from Côte d’Ivoire into Ghana.”
The plaintiff argues that the publication has seriously damaged his reputation and standing as a public servant and statesman.
The suit highlights Mr. Annoh-Dompreh’s long public service record, noting that he is serving his third term in Parliament, is the immediate past Majority Chief Whip, and currently chairs the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Affairs of the Pan-African Parliament for the West African Caucus.
As part of the reliefs being sought, Mr. Annoh-Dompreh is asking the court to declare the statements defamatory and award general damages of GH¢20 million.
He is also seeking aggravated and exemplary damages of GH¢10 million jointly and severally against the defendants, as well as “an order directing the Defendants to retract the said defamatory statements and publish an unqualified apology with equal prominence on all platforms on which the defamatory statements were published.”