Armed Policemen reportedly stormed the offices of Graphic Communications Group Limited in Accra.
According to the Ghana News Agency, the raid led to the seizure of equipment over a GH¢700,000 defamation suit on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
Insiders say, the Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Delese Mimi Darko, is the plaintiff in the case.
Reports are that some properties of the state-owned newspaper, including cars and computers were taken away in the bid to restore her image.
The State-owned media outlet, Graphic Communications Group was in April 2022, slapped with a judgement by a High Court over a false publication against the FDA boss.
Graphic Communications, was ordered by the court to apologize and retract the false story against the FDA boss.
This follows a finding by the court about a story published by the media house, alleging that Mrs Darko was being investigated for her involvement in a bribery transaction brought to the fore in an investigative piece by a journalist which implicated FDA’s former head of legal.
The court in it ruling, stated that the injury suffered to the Plaintiff’s reputation cannot be denied to have had a far-reaching consequence on her person, hence the decision.
The defendant, is expected to within 14 days of the date of judgment, issue an unqualified apology and retraction of the defamatory publication on their online platform and give it the same prominence the defamatory statement received.
It will be recalled that, an investigative report exposed the then head of Legal Affairs at the FDA for demanding a $200,000 bribe from the manufacturers of COA FS to prevent his products from getting suspended from the market.
In publishing the story, the Graphic Communications Group, is said to have falsely put out that the Board of the Authority, had begun investigating the Chief Executive for being involved in the scandal.
Mrs Darko, filed the defamation suit against three media houses at the High Court seeking general damages of 2 million Ghana cedis from each of the institutions and their reporters.
She demanded a retraction and apology from the media houses’ online platforms with the same prominence within 14 days, and a perpetual injunction to restrain the media organisations, their agents, and assigns for further publication of any defamatory word against her.
The media houses were Multimedia Group, Graphic Communications Group and Starrfmonline.
In her statement of claim issued by her lawyers, Lexkudoz Chambers, the CEO, said the publication of a story on alleged bribery allegations and investigations against her were false, malicious, and calculated to injure her reputation and long years of service at the FDA and several international organisations.
She contended that her position as head of FDA, as well as, the offices she holds in international circles, including membership of global committees and boards, and her membership of several international organisations all attest to, and serve as a demonstration of the high sense of integrity, dignity and respect she commands and enjoys in her field of endeavour from her colleagues both in Ghana and internationally.
The said publications, which are factually incorrect, have therefore tarnished this hard-earned reputation.
It is recalled that an investigative piece by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure, titled “The Returned Bribe” implicated a senior official of the FDA in an alleged bribery transaction.
The transactions did not involve the CEO according to the story.
The FDA, also did issue a Press Release indicating that the CEO had reported the matter to the national security apparatus and the Board of the FDA was undertaking its own investigations.
However, the coverage of the story on these online portals, appear to indicate that the CEO was the subject of the alleged bribery issues and that the Board of the FDA was investigating the CEO; which is not true.
Interestingly, on November 12, 2020, Graphic Online published a press release issued by the Board of the FDA Ghana.
In addition to the issues raised by the said press release, the newspaper proceeded to provide what it said was thought, at the time was a background to the issue.
“Our attention has been drawn to the inappropriateness of extraneous materials contained in the article which sought to impugn the integrity of the Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, Mrs Delese Mimi Darko.
“We have consequently retracted and unpublished the said article, and we unreservedly apologise to Mrs Delese Mimi Darko for any inconvenience the said publication may have caused her.
