The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has sued General Media Strategies Incorporated- publishers of Africawatch Magazine for defamation.
Editor of the magazine, Steve Mallory, had published an article about the purchase of a foreign mission in Oslo, Norway in which he alleged the minister conspired with others to steal Ghana.
The article, published in June 2019, was captioned, Ghana Exclusives the Inside Story of the Oslo Scandal Conspiracy to Steal, Ayorkor Botchwey’s lies exposed. Nana Akufo-Addo’s defence falls flat. The story claimed that Steve Mallory travelled to the Norwegian capital Oslo to investigate the abortive attempt by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to buy two properties for Ghana’s newly opened embassy at a whopping $16.5 million.
Displeased by the article, the plaintiff, in a writ filed by her counsel, Gary Nimako said the publication was defamatory as the author had failed to establish evidence of criminality against her. She said the defamatory publication authored by Mr. Mallory has generated several comments and media attention in Ghana and abroad ostensibly intended to tarnish her image.
