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Award-winning investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has stated that he has not yet been served with the defamation lawsuit filed against him by Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), despite the suit being filed nearly four months ago.
In a Facebook post, Manasseh expressed concern over what he described as a well-coordinated media campaign to publicise the lawsuit, with multiple newspapers carrying the story on their front pages over the weekend.
“The writ was filed on November 1, 2024, yet I have not been served. However, the case was suddenly published across various media platforms this past weekend, making me question the motives behind the timing,” he wrote.
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Manasseh, who is currently in the United States for a one-year journalism fellowship at Harvard University, questioned why the legal team representing SML had not taken steps to serve him using the substituted service method. He noted that this same law firm, Sam Okudzeto & Associates, previously served him through substituted service in an earlier case involving SML.
“The editor of an online portal told me someone called and offered him money to publish the lawsuit. When he refused, they claimed I was evading service of the writ,” he added.
SML is demanding GHS 21 million in damages over references to the SML-GRA contract in Manasseh’s book, “The President Ghana Never Got.”. The company objects to his characterisation of the deal as:
- “The biggest scam”
- “The SML scandal”
- “Shady”
SML also took offence at Manasseh’s assertion that the company’s reported financial savings and services were “falsehoods” and a “lie.”
Despite the circumstances surrounding the lawsuit, Manasseh has instructed his lawyers to initiate steps to receive the writ, stating that he has never avoided any legal challenge in his journalism career.
“This is the 11th defamation suit against me since 2015. I have never run away from any suit. I am a law-abiding citizen and will avail myself to defend my work, which has saved Ghana hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in reforms and successful prosecutions,” he emphasised.
The publicised lawsuit coincides with the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) recent announcement that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is under investigation over the SML contract and other alleged corruption-related matters.
With the controversy surrounding the contract and its legal battle heating up, the outcome of this case will be closely watched by advocates of press freedom, transparency, and accountability in Ghana.
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