KT Hammond
K.T. Hammond, the former Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, has filed a defamation lawsuit against popular broadcaster Blessed Godsbrain Smart, known as Captain Smart. This legal move comes after comments made by Captain Smart during a broadcast on Onua TV, which Hammond claims have harmed his reputation.
The controversy began during a program titled “Ghana Decides 2024 – Election Command Center – Abatoɔ Asodɛɛ,” aired on December 9, 2024. During this broadcast, Hammond alleges that Captain Smart and his co-host made statements that misrepresented him. Specifically, they suggested that Hammond questioned how a candidate of Ewe descent, Godwin Animli Dorgbadzi Dorani from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), could defeat him in the Ashanti Region.
According to the court documents, the remarks attributed to Hammond included phrases like, “How can an Ewe person unseat me?” These comments, Hammond argues, portray him as a tribalist who is against the electoral success of individuals from the Ewe ethnic group in the Ashanti Region.
Hammond, who ran for re-election on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ticket but lost to Dorani, claims that the alleged statements have led to considerable public ridicule and emotional distress. He seeks various forms of relief through his lawsuit, including:
- Damages: He is asking for special, aggravated, and exemplary damages for the libel he claims was published by Captain Smart and republished by several media outlets.
- Injunction: Hammond wants a court order to prevent Captain Smart and others from further publishing similar defamatory statements.
- Apology: He also seeks a public retraction of the statements, which should be as prominent as the original comments in all platforms used.
- Removal of Content: Hammond demands that the defamatory videos be removed from the internet, including from social media platforms.
