The CEO of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi has brought an GHC8 million defamation suit against outspoken MP, Kennedy Agyapong.
In a suit filed Tuesday, 04 July 2017, Mr Hosi is asking the court to award 5million cedis compensation against the MP, GHC 3 million against Kencity Media, a company owned by Mr. Agyapong, and GHC1 million against Afia Akoto, a Deputy Executive Secretary of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC).
The suit follows a warning issued by Senyo Hosi last week to the Assin Central MP to retract defamatory statements he made against him (Hosi) or be sued.
Mr. Kennedy was reported as accusing the CEO of the BDCs of offering a one million dollar bribe to the boss of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST).
The money, the MP, alleged was to influence Mr. Alfred Obeng to reverse a contaminated fuel sale made by BOST to two companies.
Senyo Hosi was listed as a member of the committee but this appeared to irk the irrepressible MP who claimed that the boss of the BDCs was not qualified to be on the investigative committee on grounds that he had an interest and had tried to bribe his way to procure the fuel.
Afia Akoto’s offence is that he repeated the MP’s claims on her Facebook wall.
But Senyo Hosi insists the claims have no basis and “were actuated by malice aforethought and intended to cause maximum damage and hurt to [his] reputation.”
In his case before the court, he said, the “Defendants have caused grave damage to [his] reputation, as right-thinking people have, in spite of [his] denial, continued to rely on [the] comments pour scorn on him among others holding him as a criminal/criminally-minded individual and not-trustworthy.”
He wants the court to order an unconditional retraction of the claims against him; an injunction against a repeat of the allegations; as well as General and “aggravated or exemplary damages for the malicious defamation.”