Several Ghanaian A-list artistes pulled up for the Supreme Court hearing of Mark Osae Darlington vs Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) which kicked off today, November 15, 2023.
This comes exactly a year after Mark Darlington Osae, manager of Reggie ‘N’ Bollie and Skrewfaze, sued the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame over the prohibition on celebrities endorsing alcoholic beverages.
Present in court for the hearing included rapper Sarkodie and his team, some members of singer, King Promise’s camp, Wendy Shay and her manager Bullet, amongst others.
In a writ of summons issued on November 11, 2022, Mark Darlington Osae had claimed that the FDA’s 2015 rules are biased against the creative arts business and rob them of another source of income.
According to the FDA guidelines from February, 2016, “No well-known personality or professional shall be used in alcoholic beverage advertising.”
The plaintiff sought some reliefs in the suit, including;
“A declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 17(1) and (2) which guarantee equality before the law and prohibits discrimination against persons on grounds of social or economic status, occupation, among others, Guideline 3.2.10 of the Guidelines for the Advertisement of Foods published by the 1st Defendant on 1st February 2016 which provides that “No well-known personality or professional shall be used in alcoholic beverage advertising” is discriminatory, inconsistent with and in contravention of articles 17(1) and 17 (2) of the 1992 Constitution, and thus unconstitutional.
The Attorney General was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Lawyers of both sides filed their respective pleadings and the hearing has since been adjourned to January 17, 2024.
A slew of Ghanaian celebrities including heavyweights such as Sarkodie and Wendy Shay were in court Wednesday as they battle to lift an FDA ban on alcohol advertisements.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has instituted a ban aimed at stopping Ghanaian celebrities from advertising alcohol.
The celebrities are fighting it in court, arguing the ban discriminates against their fundamental human rights.
During the most recent court date, several celebs showed up including Sarkodie, Wendy Shay, Bullet, King Promise and others.
Speaking after proceedings, they argued that the FDA’s ban is discriminating against them as Ghanaians and ‘taking food from their tables.
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