An official public apology has been issued by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate in the Effutu constituency of the Central Region, James Kofi Annan for what he admits were defamatory remarks he caused to be published against Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the sitting member of parliament for the same constituency, during the election 2020 campaign.
“I James Kofi Annan state that the statement I authored, which you published on 17th March 2020 on your network was without basis. That the statement I made, that I suspected him, Mr. Alexander Afenyo-Markin in a GHC100,000 scheme to incriminate me, as mentioned in the said press statement, had no evidence whatsoever, and that I had no reason to make those comments.
“That I should never have made that statement about Mr. Alexander Afenyo-Markin. That I sincerely render an unqualified apology to Mr. Alexander Afenyo-Markin for any inconvenience the said statement I authored may have caused his person and or his reputation or his associates. That I retract the statement I made in its entirety without any reservation. That the above retraction and apology is made by me without any reservation” James Kofi Annan noted the above in an official statement issued to the media.
James Kofi-Annan’s public apology was out of an Order from the Court.
James Kofi Annan, the defendant, was sued by Afenyo-Markin, the plaintiff, for what the MP described as false, hurtful, and damaging allegations about him that the plaintiff had caused to be published.
After a thorough trial, the court ruled expressly that James Kofi Annan must retract his statements and apologize to Alexander Afenyo-Markin via the same media outlets he, James Kofi Annan, had previously used to unjustly damage the lawyer’s name.
According to the judgement, James Kofi Annan must issue a retraction and an apology to Alexander Afenyo-Markin through media outlets namely Adom TV, Joy TV, and United Television.
“The Defendant is hereby ordered to withdraw and apologise to the Plaintiff using the same media outlets in his press conference on 17th March 2020. Those media outlets include Adom TV, Joy TV and United Television.”
