The civil suit involves Rohey John Manjang, the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, and Kebba Ansu Manneh, an investigative journalist serving as a correspondent for The Alkamba Times (TAT), an online media outlet.
When the matter was mentioned, the presiding Judge, Justice Sonia Akinbiyi, asked the parties whether they had made any attempt to negotiate the matter out of court.
Lawyer Sulayman Junkung Jobarteh for the defendant stated that they had not made any formal negotiation because the statement that was given to them by the plaintiff (Minister Manjang) came with conditions that his client (Kebba Ansu Manneh) should write an apology for publishing wrong information they disagreed with. “We can write a rejoinder but we cannot apologise,” the defendant counsel said.
Counsel Modou M. Drammeh for the plaintiff told the court that if the defendant agreed to apologise for publishing wrong information, they could negotiate the matter.
Justice Sonia Akinbiyi encouraged both parties to negotiate and explore the possibility of settling the matter out of court. She adjourned the case till December 12 for mention and updates on any out-of-court settlement.
It would be recalled that Kebba Ansu Manneh, Alkamba Times’ national investigative correspondent, in June 2024 published an article that stated that D150,000 had been paid to a bank account belonging to the minister of Environment. The amount, he stated, was allegedly from a sum of D200,000 generated from the sale of a mahogany tree that stood on the outskirts of Kiang Kaif.
When the case was called before Justice Sonia Akinbiyi, plaintiff Rohey John Manjang was absent, whilst the defendant, Kebba Ansu Manneh, was present. The counsel for the plaintiff, Lawyer Modou M. Drammeh, and Lawyer J. Jobarteh for the defendant, were all present.
Counsel Modou M. Drammeh for the plaintiff informed the court they had been served with the statement of defence by the defendant's counsel, and they would need time to file their reply.
According to the writ of summons of Environment Minister Rohey John Manjang, she sought for the court to direct Kebba Ansu Manneh (defendant) to issue a written apology.
Minister Manjang also wanted the court to direct the defendant to issue an unreserved apology to be published on The Alkamba Times website and any other public platform used to defame her and in widely circulated print newspapers.
Further, she wanted the court to order granting of a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, either through his agents, associates, or contacts, from making any further defamatory statements against her, whether online or in any form or manner whatsoever.
The writ of summons also indicated an order for the defendant to remove all statements about the defamation of the plaintiff from all his social media platforms (website, Facebook, etc).
She wanted an order for the defendant to pay D50,000,000 (fifty million dalasis) being special damages, and administrative costs of D500,000 (five hundred thousand dalasis), interest at the rate of 15% per annum until judgment is passed.
