Council of State member files GH¢10m defamatory suit against Hannah Bissiw

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the La Bianca Company Limited, Eunice Jacqueline Buah Asomah Hinneh has  filed a GH¢10million defamatory suit against the National Women's Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hannah Louisa Bissiw.

Madam Hinneh who serves as a Council of State member avers that on September 7, 2020, the defendant (Bissiw) in a telephone interview on Accra-based Adom FM's "Dwaso Nsem Fabewoso" programme used words that damaged her hard-earned reputation even though she was not the subject of the conversation.

According to the plaintiff, as an internationally renowned business executive and stateswoman she "has suffered exceedingly serious damage to her hard-earned reputation by being portrayed to the right-thinking members of the society as a person of moral decadence who is not law-abiding and patriotic".

"The Plaintiff has suffered serious damage to her character and reputation by being portrayed as a person whose business model is run through dubious means such as false statutory declarations. The Plaintiff has suffered serious damage to her character and reputation by being portrayed as a person who is corrupt for using her political office for private gain".

Bissiw's comments

The plaintiff in the suit claims that Bissiw in the radio interview on Adom FM stated that she had made false declarations at the port by reporting to the port authorities that she had imported fish when she had instead imported chicken.

"There are others too that, today I would mention a certain woman's name, she is called Maa U. They call her La'Bianca. Today, I know that she has changed the names of most of her companies. She is a Board member of GHAPOHA, and also a member of the Council of State. Today, if you should go to the Port, you may investigate it. This is because, at least some people at the Port have given me certain documents that I am studying. It is very sad! That woman, at that time, she was sitting in front of me and I told it to her face that her action and activities were criminal so I would not be able to help her. You could not import chicken to the country and declare that it was fish; just because you realised you did not buy from the local poultry farmers, the quantity you were supposed to buy from them. It is a crime to make a false declaration at the port. You cannot import, for instance, tilapia and declare that it is something else. Today, under the current NPP, you go to the Port and see what this woman is doing," the writ states in comments translated from Twi.

"So because of these things, when it was indicated some time ago that rotten chicken had been imported from Brazil into the country, I suspected that woman. This is because, for me she sat in front of me and I told it to her face. I called her criminal in her face. Today, if you like go and investigate, you are journalists. If you have people like this, today, she imports the chicken, she clears the imported chicken and declares it for customs officers".

Reliefs

Madam Hinneh wants the court to direct the defendant "to publish on three consecutive occasions, on the same platform that she published the defamatory words, an unqualified apology, with the same prominence as given to the issuance of the defamatory words".

She is also seeking a court order restraining the defendant and her assigns from further publishing the defamatory comments as well as general damages GH₵10 million.