Embattled popular Kumawood actor Kwadwo Nkansah has finally managed to convince actress Martha Ankomah to settle the GH₵5 million defamation suit out of court after agreeing to the terms of a settlement.
Terms of the agreement were struck on Tuesday, February 25, after an initial breakdown in negotiations was announced in open court.
Following the agreement, the parties are to file the terms of settlement and appear in court on April 1, 2025, for it to be adopted as a consent judgment by the court presided over by Justice Forson Baah Agyepong.
On Tuesday, February 25, 2025, an initial proposal from Lilwin and his representative to pay GH₵150,000, which includes GH₵50,000 legal fees, was flatly rejected as lawyers of the plaintiff (Martha Ankomah) described it as an “eyesore.”
“We have been chasing the defendant for settlement,” counsel said. “My learned friend (counsel for Lilwin) is here, and I have called her several times just to get something to work with,” but to no avail.
Eyesore Proposal
Counsel said it was only last Saturday that counsel for the defendant (Lilwin) called “to propose something….and what they proposed was an eyesore.”
Nii Applatu Plange, counsel for the plaintiff, said, “In our view, it is not something that we will want to proceed further with, so we are back for the court to proceed with the case,” he said as negotiations for settlement broke down.
Reasonable Proposal
Counsel for the defendant said what counsel for the plaintiff told the court was largely true but stressed that what her client (Lilwin) had proposed was “reasonable.”
She was, however, “surprised to hear (from counsel of the plaintiff that it) is an eyesore.”
In the circumstances, she said, “We are in their (plaintiff’s) hands and the court.”
To clarify matters to the court, counsel for the plaintiff said, “At the last sitting, we (plaintiff and her counsel) came down (from GH₵5m to GH₵2m) significantly, and when my learned friend called, she proposed legal fees and GH₵100,000 for Martha to forgo it.”
This, counsel for the plaintiff said, was unacceptable and formed the basis of his description as an “eyesore.”
We Can’t Afford Martha’s Pedigree
Counsel for Lilwin (defendant) told the court that “We proposed that Martha should receive GH₵100,000 and legal fees of GH₵50,000 (totaling GH₵150,000).”
She explained that, “We are approaching Easter, and I know that the matter is not anything that we can quantify in terms of the injury caused to the plaintiff (Martha Ankomah).”
“We are doing this on the background that we are Christians. …We cannot pay Martha Ankomah for her pedigree,” counsel for Lilwin said as she mitigated for the damages.
Counsel for the defendant intimated that “We are proposing a whopping 1.5 billion (in old currency),” which, for them, is reasonable.
But counsel for the plaintiff also raised concerns about how the new apology that was to replace the rejected one was treated.
Justice Forson Baah Agyepong, the presiding judge who appeared to have had enough of the parties after his previously wise counsel for them to agree on settlement in his chambers, said, “I won’t talk again; I have advised both parties enough.”
GH₵200,000 New Proposal
When it appeared in open court that the plaintiff and her lawyers did not accept the initial GH₵150,000 proposal and wanted the case to proceed in court, Lilwin (defendant), through one of his managers, whispered into counsel’s ear.
Counsel then informed the court that her client had whispered into her ear that he would round the figure up to GH₵200,000, including legal fees.
That triggered a back-and-forth exchange in open court, resulting in the parties approaching the bench. They later agreed to have more discussions in chambers to resolve the matter, but this time without the judge.
After nearly two hours, the parties returned from chambers to inform the judge that they had agreed on terms of settlement.
After consulting their diaries, the parties informed Justice Baah Agyepong that they would be back in court on April 1, 2025, for the terms of the settlement to be adopted by the court as a consent judgment.
It is not immediately clear the final sum in general damages that was agreed on, but the settlement will include a new retraction and proper public apology.
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