Cofounder and Director of Chalewote Street Art Project, Mantse Aryeequaye, has won a defamation suit against Wanlov the Kubolor.
In 2019, Wanlov the Kubolor accused Mantse Aryeequaye of being a sexual predator and physical abuser in a tweet. “Mantse Melvin Nii Aryeequaye, founder of Accra (Dot) Alt, Sabolai Radio Music Festival, Chalewote Street Art Festival, and Redd Kat Pictures, is a woman beater, abuser, and sexual predator. He chose the wrong person to intimidate,” Wanlov tweeted at the time.
Mantse Aryeequaye responded to Wanlov’s accusations by filing a defamation lawsuit against him, which he has won.
According to the court’s decision, Wanlov was unable to prove his claims, and he “appeared to be naive and did not exercise the best judgment. He appeared to have let his celebrity status cloud his judgment on the occasion.”
Mantse Aryeequaye’s attorneys sought GHs1,000,000.00 in damages, but the court only awarded them GHs50,000.00 due to high cost of living.
“I think the defendant even though liable to pay damages must not be destroyed with punitive damages of that colossal amount that can destroy his talent in the arts community. As a result, and way of ‘go and sin’ no more. I shall award by way of general damages a compensatory sum of GHs50,000.00 against the defendant in favour of the plaintiff,” the court said as part of its judgement.
“I would award cost of GHs5,000.00 in favour of the plaintiff,” the court added.
Wanlov was also given a perpetual injunction restraining order; “His assigns, agents, privies whatsoever and howsoever described from any further publication of the said libellous and defamatory statement or any similar words or statements of the defamatory of the plaintiff.”
Mantse Aryeequaye was represented by Eugene Ablade Oninku, Esq. and Jame Angnaya, Esq. while William Newman Esq. represented Wanlov the Kubolor.
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