A private legal practitioner and stalwart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has accused The Herald, an Accra-based opposition NDC propaganda piece of defaming him.
Speaking through his lawyers at Cromwell Gray LLP, Mr Otchere-Darko asked The Herald to retract a “defamatory” story it has published about him.
The Herald, had, according to a statement signed by Managing Partner of Cromwell Gray LLP, Kissi Agyebeng, published a story on its front page with the pictures of Mr. Otchere-Darko and other individuals “displayed under the inflammatory headline – Agyapa Deal Lands UK Law Firm In Dirty Conflict Of Interest In Ghana.”
According to the statement, The Herald “falsely published that our client (Otchere-Darko) has been in cahoots with his wife to fraudulently source off legal work in respect of government transactions to an international law firm.”
“In particular, you (The Herald) published that our client and his wife got outsoruced a legal brief through their law firm Africa Legal Associates by the international law in respect of a liquefied natural gas regasification transaction involving Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and Gazprom.”
It added that “in addition, you sought to establish the same nexus between Africa Legal Associates and the international law firm in respect of the Agyapa Royalties Limited relief.”
According to the statement, a simple check by The Herald “would have established that Africa Legal Associates was not local counsel to the international law firm on the liquefied natural gas regasification transaction. It would have also revealed that the international law firm did not outsource legal work to Africa Legal Associates on the Agyapa Royalties Limited transaction. But that Africa Legal Associates was engaged by Imara Corporate Finance (Pty) Limited.
By Melvin Tarlue