Sue Mathias and Al Jazeera at the International Court of Justice - Akufo-Addo is informed by Kwame Jantuah
Mr. Kwame Jantuah, a private legal practitioner, stated that Mr. Akufo-Addo should have written to Al Jazeera Network and Mr. Alistair Mathias simultaneously to retract and apologize for the documentary in which it was stated that he acted as a lawyer for Mathias, a Canadian gold smuggler and money launderer, and also benefited from an alleged $100 million infrastructure contract awarded to Mathias.
Mr. Jantuah stated on The Big Issue with Roland Walker on TV3 on Friday, May 5 that Mathias made the claims and used Al Jazeera as a medium for the broadcast.
"There are two types of defamation: written libel and oral slander."
"Instead of rushing to Al Jazeera, the president could have sent a letter to Mathias retracting his statement.
Because the problem with Al Jazeera is that they aired it, but the true problem is what Mathias said in the broadcast.
"The President views what he said in the broadcast as malevolent and defamatory, so why didn't he go after him?
"From the initial encounter of sending the letter to Al Jazeera, a similar letter should have been sent to Mathias; Mathias is the one who made the statement and used Al Jazeera to convey it."
Mr. Jantuah suggested to the President that he prosecute Alistair Mathias and the Doha-based media conglomerate before the International Court of Justice after Al Jazeera stated that it would not retract or apologize.
Mr. Jantuah, a prominent member of the Convention People's Party (CPP), stated, "All that is left is to take on Mathias and possibly add Al Jazeera to the mix."
Al Jazeera Network stated that it has responded to the letter that demanded an apology and retraction for a documentary.
This occurred after a TV3 journalist inquired whether Al Jazeera had received the missive from Ghana's Presidency.
In response, Al Jazeera stated, "We have responded to the letter from the president of the Republic of Ghana by rectifying certain portions of its content and elaborating on several points.
"Prior to the publication of Gold Mafia, we outlined Alistair Mathias's claims in a letter to the president.
Near the conclusion of the documentary, the president's response is shown.
A portion of the letter to Al Jazeera dated 25 April 2023 stated, "The disputed documentary made unfounded claims that the President acted as a lawyer for one Mr. Alistair Mathias and implied that the President personally benefited unlawfully from an alleged $100 million state infrastructure contract allegedly awarded to Mr. Mathias."
It continued, "It is imperative that you respond to this request within seven days of receiving this letter."
In the concluding episode of Al Jazeera's undercover investigation into Mathias' gold smuggling and money-laundering activities across Africa, Mathias boasted about his relationships with numerous African presidents, including President Akufo-Addo.
He referred to the President of Ghana as a close acquaintance and claimed that the President was his attorney.
Additionally, President Akufo-Addo's attorney, Kow Essuman, refuted attempts to link him to Alistair Mathews.
In a tweet on Sunday, 16 April 2023, Essuman stated, "Since 2000, neither the President nor his law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co., have been in private practice.
served as counsel for Alistair Mathews or Guldrest".
"The President is unfamiliar with Mathias and Guldrest.
Ignore the false accusations, he added.
Some opposition members seized on these claims and leveled various accusations against the President.
However, legal counsel to the President, Kow Essuman, denied the allegations, revealing that President Akufo-Addo has not been in private practice as a lawyer since 2000 and that his legal chambers have not represented Alistair or any of his associates.
Mathias is a gold trader with expertise in devising money laundering schemes, a skill he asserts has given him access to the continent's chiefs of state.
Al Jazeera's investigative team, posing as Chinese criminals attempting to launder money from Africa, captured Mathias, who revealed his method of operation.
The so-called financial architect also bragged about his alleged relationships with several world leaders, including the monarch of Swaziland.
"There is no chief of state or president on this continent that neither of us can reach.
The President of Zambia is a dear friend of mine.
DRC, the president has repeatedly invited me to construct a refinery there, he claimed.