According to Kelly Warner Law, as of July 2001, Ghana’s parliament unanimously repealed the Criminal Libel and Seditious Laws, which had been used to incarcerate several journalists in the past, according to the West African Journalists Association (WAJA).
With the amendment, any person accused of committing an offence under the repealed sections will be discharged.
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Since Ghana repealed the criminal libel law, libel cases in Ghana now come under the aegis of civil torts action.
A tort is an act or omission, other than a breach of contract, which gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability.
In other words, a wrong has been committed and the remedy is money damages to the person wronged.
For civil tort cases, the standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence. The preponderance of the evidence means that it is more likely than not that the defendant is legally responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries.
If the plaintiff proves their case by more than 50 percent of the evidence, the jury must come back with a verdict in favour of the plaintiff.
Perhaps, it is for this reason that the angry pastor of the Lighthouse Chapel International is back to court the 4th time to settle scores with Journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni and others.
This follows three earlier suits which were all centred around defamation.
According to Manasseh Azure Awuni, the paster is very livid at their publications about his church.
In Pastor Dag’s previous spells with the courts, he suffered lapses in his case and changed lawyers.
This time, Pastor Dag is not looking for fines or damages. He wants the journalist and others jailed for contempt.
According to the journalist, the current case shall be heard on 31st January 2022.
We are currently curious to witness what the court will do. Nevertheless, if the amendment done by Ghana’s parliament is anything to go by, we can predict the journalist will not go to jail.
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And for the umpteenth time, the pain will go straight to the vengeful man of God.
This is how Netizens reacted.
As we prepare for drama, we pray the best team wins.
SOURCE: GhanaCelebrities.Com