Graphic Communications Group, a state-owned media company, has been fined by a High Court for making a false statement against the Food and Drugs Authority's (FDA) CEO, Delese Mimi Darko.
Darko Mimi
The court has ordered Graphic Communications to apologize and retract the misleading report about the FDA commissioner.
This comes after a court decision on an article published by the media outlet saying that Delese Mimi Darko was being probed for her role in a bribery scheme that was brought to light in an investigative piece by a journalist that implicated FDA's former head of legal.
The court concluded in its finding that the damage to the Plaintiff's reputation could not be denied to have had a far-reaching impact on her person, resulting in the decision.
The defendant is required to provide an unqualified apology and retraction of the defamatory publication on their web platform within 14 days of the date of judgment, giving it the same prominence as the defamatory statement.
It will be noted that an investigation revealed the then-head of Legal Affairs at the FDA seeking a $200,000 payment from COA FS's producers in order to keep his products off the market.
The Graphic Communications Group is accused of fraudulently reporting that the Authority's Board of Directors had initiated an investigation into the Chief Executive's involvement in the incident.