An Accra High Court has summoned former Member of Parliament for Tano South and Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Hannah Bissiw, to appear before it to answer charges of defamation brought against her by one Eunice Hinneh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of La Bianca Company Limited, for comments she made on radio.
Dr. Bissiw, the National Women Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is said to have made these comments during a telephone interview on Accra based radio station, Adom FM’s morning show program dubbed ‘Dwaso Nsem Fabewoso’ on September 7, 2020.
According to the writ of summons, the former MP, Hannah Bissiw, accused Mrs. Hinneh of being a criminal, dishonest, unpatriotic, and not being a law-abiding citizen.
Dr. Bissiw also accused her of having bad morals of corruption and of hoodwinking and duping the state by falsely declaring goods she imports into the country.
She added that Mrs Hinneh was a morally reprehensible person with malicious intentions against the country by importing rotten and unwholesome frozen foods into the country for public consumption while misusing her public position and office for her personal gains and the facilitation of her criminal enterprise.
She’s also accused of stating that the CEO was defrauding and causing financial loss to the state.
Mrs Hinneh avers that as a result of the defendant’s statements, her reputation has been seriously damaged, and her hitherto esteemed and eulogized credentials in the business community and national space have been denigrated, which has led her to suffer considerable distress and embarrassment.
She is, therefore, praying the court to grant her the following reliefs:
That the defendant (Hannah Bissiw) publish on three consecutive occasions on the same platform that she published the defamatory words an unqualified retraction and an apology, with the same prominence as given to the issuance of the defamatory words.
Also, a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, her agents, assigns and servants from further publishing any defamatory words against the plaintiff (Mrs Hinneh).
Together with that, pay the plaintiff for the general damages of the sum of GH¢10 million.
Exemplary damages for the malicious conduct of the defendant in defaming the plaintiff, as well as costs, which includes legal fees, and any other order(s) as the court may deem fit.
