Court dismisses $1.5m Nana Oye libel suit
The Accra High Court has dismissed the libel suit filed by Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, a former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, against Tony Lithur, for no reasonable cause of action.
On April 25, 2024, Nana Oye commenced an action at the court, against Mr Lithur, her ex-husband.
The action wasin respect of purported libel arising out of certain defamatory statements contained in a divorce petition filed by Mr Lithur on May 2, 2018, for the dissolution of their marriage.
In the said petition for divorce, Mr Lithur made several allegations against Nana Oye, which, according to her, portrayed her as a violent and cruel person, who had no regard for the rights of others except herself and her children.
The plaintiff said Mr Lithur went as far as alleging that she on several occasions physically assaulted domestic staff and relatives, sometimes gleefully swallowing their blood after causing injury to them to taunt them.
Nana Oye Bampoe Addo per the suit sought $1.5 million damages against Mr Lithur, defended, following a divorce action yet to be concluded.
Justice Rev. Joseph Owusu Adu Agyemang, while ruling on the case, said no action of defamation could be found in the allegations made against Mr Lithur.
The judge also said that no court should allow parties to open Pandora’s Box in a suit of that nature and that the petition for divorce and its reply are judicial documents.
The court awarded a cost of GH¢5,000 against Nana Oye after the lawyers of Mr Lithur initially had requested GH¢20,000, but Nana Oye offered to pay GH¢1,000.
The two were customarily married on April 14, 1991, and the marriage was converted into ordinance marriage by the parties in January 1998, until May 2, 2018, when Mr Lithur filed a petition for divorce.
Mr Lithur’s petition for divorce was partly heard and yet to be concluded.
Nana Oye, plaintiff, said the defendant in the divorce petition made false averments and caused the defamatory words to be published against her. —GNA
