Legal activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor has announced his intention to contest the GH¢5.1 million judgment awarded against him in favor of former National Security Minister Albert Kan Dapaah, describing the legal proceedings as fundamentally flawed.
The High Court in Accra presided over by Justice (Rev.) Joseph Owusu Adu-Agyeman today ordered Mr. Barker-Vormawor to pay GH¢5 million in general damages for defamation, alongside GH¢100,000 in legal costs. The court’s ruling followed a suit filed by Mr. Kan Dapaah over allegations made by the activist that the former minister and other officials had offered him bribes to cease his activist campaigns.
The judgment was delivered after the court struck out Mr. Barker-Vormawor’s Statement of Defence, having previously dismissed an application to have it reinstated. The court deemed the initial defense “alien” to the rules governing civil procedure.
In a sharp rebuke of the verdict, Mr. Barker-Vormawor took to social media to declare his next steps. “Of course we will seek to set it aside. But he can take his victory lap,” he wrote in a Facebook post shortly after the ruling.
The activist contends that a change in his legal representation precipitated the adverse ruling. He explained that his new legal team was denied the opportunity to file necessary witness statements after his previous counsel assumed a public office position, leading to an absence in court.
“He missed Court one day, and when we got the record, the judge had struck out my defense and given a date to give judgement,” Mr. Barker-Vormawor stated. He detailed that subsequent efforts to rectify the situation, including filing motions to relist the defense and to arrest the judgment, were refused by the judge.
“You can read my witness statement; that the court refused to consider if you want!” he added, signaling his belief that the merits of his case were never properly heard.
The former National Security Minister had originally sought GH¢10 million in damages, a claim the court reduced by half in its final decision.
