Cecilia Dapaah threatens Multimedia Group over ‘false’ publication

Embattled former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah has written to the Multimedia Group, owners of Myjoyonline and other media entities about false reportage. Lawyers of the former minister who is under investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor wrote to the Adabraka-headquartered media conglomerate on Friday, August 11, 2023.

In the letter, the lawyers from Sam Okudzeto and Associates said the letter is in regards to “FALSE REPORTAGE ABOUT SUMS ALLEGEDLY FOUND IN” Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s bank accounts. This follows Joy News reportage of the alleged balances in some of Abena Dapaah’s accounts. The accounts revealed in the news report were part of a number of accounts the OSP requested to be frozen to allow for an investigation into the minister’s recent scandal.

“We act for Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah (hereafter referred to as “Our Client”) and write regarding some recent untrue and misleading publications from your outlet,” part of the three-page letter said.

Continuing, the letter said, “On 8th August 2023, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (hereinafter referred to as the “OSP”) filed an application in the High Court, Financial Division to confirm among others, a freezing order regarding our client’s bank accounts.

“Although the Application did not disclose any specific amounts of money found in the bank accounts, your news outlet, JoyNews published false information about the amounts in those accounts while ascribing the information to nameless, unidentified and unverifiable sources.

“Specifically, at about 12:30 pm on 10th August 2023, your outlet published a story titled “OSP tracks $5m, finds GHC 48m in Cecilia Dapaah’s Prudential! Bank accounts”. Within that story, your outlet proceeded to publish that, sources at the OSP had disclosed amounts of money in the frozen bank accounts of our client and mentioned that other monies had been found in another account.

“Again, at about 2 pm, your outlet shared multiple stories titled “Joy News Prime | Cecilia Dapaah Case: OSP tracks $5m in total bank transactions over a period” and “JoyNews Today || OSP finds $5million and Ghc48million in Cecilia Dapaah’s bank accounts” on the social media platform YouTube. Not only had the OSP not disclosed any amounts found in our client’s accounts, but the assertion that our client’s accounts contain $5m and GHC48m is false.

“Indeed, at about 4 pm of that same day, 10th August 2023, the Office of the Special Prosecutor via one of its verified social media handles “Office of the Special Prosecutor – Ghana, @ospghana” rebutted and dispelled claims that it had revealed any specific amounts of monies found in our client’s bank
accounts.

“Despite this rebuttal, at 7 pm of 10th August 2023, your outfit continued to post material alluding to the false statement that $5m and GHS48m had been found in our client’s bank accounts.
From the foregoing, it is evident that your outfit’s consistent reportage of our client’s matter has been steeped in the purported reliance on information from unidentified sources and a reckless disregard for truth and accuracy. The figures you have been publishing, about the sums in our client’s bank accounts are false. and you have continued to push these falsehoods that you attribute to unidentified and unverified sources. It is apparent that your outfit’s coverage and publications are actuated by malice and a deliberate/reckless attempt to impute wrongdoing to our client contrary to the constitutional and time-honoured principle of the presumption of innocence she is legally entitled to.”

Cecilia Dapaah, through her lawyers, is demanding that the Multimedia Group retract the information it published and apologize to the former Bantama MP within three days.

“We are by this letter demanding that your outfit retracts the false information it has published and apologizes to our client within three (3) days from the delivery of this letter (using the same means and coverage with which it published the false. information), failing which we have our client’s firm instructions to institute legal action and bring the full force of the law to bear on your outfit for the damage and injury your reportage has caused and keeps causing.”