Felicia Tetteh, 2020 parliamentary candidate for Sagnarigu Constituency
The 2020 parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party in the Sagnarigu Constituency, Felicia Tetteh, has denied claims that she campaigned for Kennedy Agyapong in his bid to become a flagbearer for the 2024 polls.
Read full article According to her, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia remains her sole choice in the NPP presidential flagbearership race.
She is therefore demanding an immediate retraction and apology for defamatory publication from one Alhassan Mohammed, known on social media as Jilma Wan.
Alhassan is said to have published a message that read: "the NPP 2020 Parliamentary Candidate for Sagnarigu, Madam Felicia Tettey Precious Stone has been spotted organising party faithful especially the women wing campaigning for the Assin Central Member of Parliament, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong in a bid to lead the Party in the upcoming flagbearership race."
Based on this post, the lawyer for Felicia Tetteh, Sulley Sambian, is demanding an apology.
"As stated earlier, your publication has caused so much reputational harm to our client's person that cannot be compensated by any amount of money.
"We have in the circumstances been instructed to demand from you, which we hereby do, to retract, apologise and pull down the offensive publication from your Facebook account.
"The apology must feature on your Facebook account within 24 hours upon receipt of this letter, the cost of which is assessed at Twenty Thousand Cedis.
"Please be informed that we have our client's firm instructions to commence legal proceedings against you to vindicate her rights without further recourse to you should you fail to accede to our request within the period stated supra."
DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE RETRACTION AND APOLOGY FOR DEFAMATORY PUBLICATION
We act as Solicitors for Mrs. Felicia Tettey, the 2020 Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party in the Sagnarigu Constituency, and the immediate past Northern Regional Second Vice Chairperson of the Party. Our client is currently the Regional Coordinator for National School Feeding Programme. She is also a business woman operating a popular restaurant in Tamale called Taccorabama Pizza House.
Our instructions are that on or about Tuesday, 6th September, 2022, you published on your Facebook account Jilma Wan Tamale, a story in which you made certain claims against our client.
In order to proper situate this letter in context, the following was what you published touching and concerning our client: "The NPP 2020 Parliamentary Candidate for Sagnarigu, Madam Felicia Tettey Precious Stone has been spotted organising party faithful especially the women wing campaigning for the Assin Central Member of Parliament, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong in a bid to lead the Party in the upcoming flagbearership race.
This happens(sic) when Madam Felicia organised the women wing within the length and breadth of Sagnarigu Constituency at First November in Gurugu and invited Hajia Rahi, the Northern Regional Campaign Coordinator for Assin Central Member of Parliament Hon Kennedy Agyapong to have a word with the women wing which she deemed as a privilege and honoured the invitation.
The Northern Regional Executives upon hearing this were not pleased with such development which propelled them to petition the Sagnarigu Constituency Executive board headed by Chairman Dangoma about what they have seen as sad and unfortunate".
The publication, which has since gone viral on social media platforms has a picture attachment bearing the faces of our client and that of the Assin Central Member of Parliament, ostensibly to create the impression that the picture was taken at the Office of the Member of Parliament, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong.
Before we proceed into weightier matters, we have our client's instruction to underscore the fact that her choice of the NPP Presidential Candidate ahead of the 2024 general elections has always been Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. A lot of those who matter in NPP in the North, and even outside the five regions of the North are aware of our client's unwavering support for the DMB PROJECT! Our client has equally bolstered her position on this issue at public platforms in the past prior to the issuance of code of conduct for presidential and parliamentary primaries.
We are painfully aware that, arguably, your publication may on the face of it not appear defamatory, but we contend that what you meant, and what you were understood to mean, in the minds of those who know our client's position on the DMB project is that:
i. Our client is a snitch, with a politically dubious character who says one thing but means the other
ii. Our client cannot and should never be taken seriously in her dealings with anybody. In sum, your publication was intended to impugn her integrity and debase her in the minds of right thinking members of society.
In the minds of the general public, the publication meant, and was understood to mean that even though our client seeks to occupy and or is occupying public office, she is not disciplined enough to obey simple code of conduct fashioned out by the political party she belongs to.
We are sad to announce to you that you have succeeded in doing just that. Since your publication, mischievous as it was, our client has been inundated with calls from friends and family both within the country and outside.
To put it charitably, your publication was maliciously intended; you paid scant or no regard to its truth or otherwise, or you were just recklessly bold, not caring whether it was true or false. Less charitably, you engaged in outright lies, in that, our client has NEVER in her life consciously taken a picture with the Hon. Kennedy Agyapong. The picture attached to your publication was a disingenuous photoshop. Additionally, the meeting that was convened at the behest of our client never discussed the Hon. Agyapong, even though you were so emphatic in your publication about it.
As stated earlier, your publication has caused so much reputational harm to our client's person that cannot be compensated by any amount of money. We have in the circumstances been instructed to demand from you, which we hereby do, to retract, apologise and pull down the offensive publication from your Facebook account. The apology must feature on your Facebook account within 24 hours upon receipt of this letter, the cost of which is assessed at Twenty Thousand Cedis.
Please be informed that we have our client's firm instructions to commence legal proceedings against you to vindicate her rights without further recourse to you should you fail to accede to our request within the period stated supra.
Please be advised accordingly. Yours faithfully, Sulley Sambian (Lawyer for Mrs. Felicia Tettey)
NYA/SARA