Kan Dapaah defamation judgment pushed to March over court vacation
The judgment had been scheduled for Tuesday, 6 January 2026, but the court said it could not sit because the date fell within the judiciary’s New Year vacation period.
A High Court ruling in the GHS 10 million defamation case filed by former National Security Minister Albert Kan Dapaah against activist Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor has been postponed to 2 March 2026.
The judgment had been scheduled for Tuesday, 6 January 2026, but the court said it could not sit because the date fell within the judiciary’s New Year vacation period.
When the case was called, Justice Rev Emmanuel Adu-Owusu Agyeman informed the parties that although his decision was ready, he was barred from delivering it under Order 79, rule 4(c) of CI 47, which governs vacation sittings.
Counsel for Mr Kan Dapaah, lawyer Otchere Adjekum, reminded the court that the matter had previously been adjourned specifically for judgment. The judge acknowledged this but added that “all of us were wrong at the time”, explaining that the legal vacation, which ends on 6 January, was still in force and therefore the court could not proceed.
The case has now been adjourned to 2 March 2026 for judgment.
Mr Kan Dapaah issued the defamation action after Mr Barker-Vormawor, convener of the FixTheCountry Movement, alleged that the then National Security Minister and other government officials had met him and offered him US$1 million to halt his activism against the government.
The former minister has denied the claim and contends that the remarks were false and damaging to his reputation.
In his writ, he is asking the court to award GHS 10 million as general damages, including aggravated and/or exemplary damages for defamation. He is also seeking:
An unqualified apology and retraction of the statements complained of, and
A perpetual injunction restraining Mr Barker-Vormawor from repeating the same or similar defamatory allegations against him.
