I have used presidential jet twice or thrice with Akufo-Addo - Brother tells court

Edward Akufo-Addo, brother of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has confirmed using the presidential jet 'two or three times' only in the presence of the president.

Edward was answering questions in an Accra High Court where he is suing Class Media Group, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Mensah Thompson, and others; for defamation.

Under cross-examination from the ASEPA boss' lawyer, Victor Adawudu, Edward affirmed among others that he had only undertaken internal travel with the president on the jet.

That he did not pay any cost for the travel, that he had been asked by the president to accompany him each of the times that he was on the jet and also that he saw nothing wrong with using it because his brother was travelling to the same destination anyway.

Edward opened his case on October 31, informing the court that he intended to rely on a six-page witness statement.

Background:

The ASEPA Executive Director alleged on the media outlet that Edward Akufo-Addo had used the presidential jet for a private trip to Abuja.

The plaintiff subsequently dragged Thompson and Class Media to court for defamation demanding GH¢10 million as damages.

In his suit, he described the claims as “utterly false and a product of the defendant’s imagination.”

It is not the only time Thompson has made such allegations; he is on record to have claimed that relatives of the president used the jet for a shopping trip to the United Kingdom.

He was arrested for the publication of fake news after the military denied that the jet had been used for the said trip. He later apologized for the claim stating that his source had misled him.

Other reliefs being sought:

Aside from the GHc10 million cedis in damages, Edward is seeking other reliefs from the court, among others:

“An apology and retraction of the words complained of particularly in paragraph 9 of the Statement of Claim with the same prominence as the impugned publication”.

And a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, whether by themselves, their servants, agents or assigns, from repeating the same or other, similar words of and concerning the plaintiff.

Lastly, he is asking for costs inclusive of legal fees.

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