Order for substituted service has been served on Enock Nana Yaw Oduro Agyei, known popularly in the music scene as Trigmatic, for defamation.
A few weeks ago, it was reported that Trigmatic had been sued by Amakye Dede for claiming that he [Amakye Dede] was not the author of his own songs.
In a new development, an order for substituted service has been approved by the court and has been published in the Wednesday, December 4, 2019 edition of the Daily Graphic.
The order from the High Court of Justice, Financial and Economic Crime Division 2, states that “upon reading the affidavit of Asamoah Amoako of House Number TA/C, 29 Taifa, the Lawyers of Dassah & Associates for the Plaintiff/Applicant herein filed on 25th November 2019 in support of Motion Ex-Parte for an Order for Substituted Service on the Defendant.”
“It is hereby ordered that the Defendant be served with the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim and together with this Order by Substituted Service in the following manner:
a. By posting copies of the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim and together with this Order on the Noticeboard of the Law Court Complex (General Jurisdiction) Accra.
b. By posting copies of the said processes at the residence of the Defendant at Dansoman close to B.O. Opoku and
c. By single publication in the ‘Daily Graphic’ newspaper.”
It further ordered that the processes for the order shall remain posted for a period of fourteen (14) days.
The Statement of Claim
“In their natural and ordinary meaning, the words published by the defendant (Trigmatic) referred to and were understood to refer to the plaintiff (Amakye Dede) and they meant and they were understood to mean (a) that the plaintiff is incapable of writing his own songs. (b) That plaintiff’s songs are written by someone else for him to sing or produce. (c) That plaintiff’s stature and legendary status must be taken with a pinch of salt. (d) That the height, popularity and the fame the plaintiff has achieved in the music circles over the years are not genuine and that the esteem and reverence people hold and have for him as well as the nation on the plaintiff as an ace and top-class musician should be reconsidered,” a statement of claim issued by Amakye Dede said.
The statement also said Trigmatic’s comment was borne out of ill-will, ill-motive, pull-him-down play and a grand scheme to rubbish his achievements.
It noted that nothing else could have motivated the defendant to publish those words about the plaintiff and that the defendant intended to defame the plaintiff.
It said by the defendant’s publication, his reputation has now become charged and he has been ridiculed, adding that the defendant’s words used in his publication have lowered the image of the plaintiff, reverence and esteem before the right-thinking members of the society both locally and internationally.
The statement, however, declared that per the defendant’s defamatory publication on the plaintiff, he is likely to have diminished show contracts and low attendance to his shows.
The statement of claim seeks the following: (a) A declaration that the defendant’s words published of the plaintiff are defamatory. (b) General damages for libel contained in the defendant’s publication indorsed by way of attachment and particularized paragraph 11.
(c) Aggravated damages arising from libel published by the defendant of the plaintiff to the sum of GH¢1, 000, 000 against the defendant.
(d) Cost, including lawyer’s fees. (e) Any further relief or orders as the court may deem meet.
The Genesis of the story
Trigmatic was interviewed on Zylofon FM on October 15, 2019, during a discussion on who the best songwriters in Ghana were.
When asked to mention his top 5 Songwriters in Ghana he said: “one of the very greatest writers for me has been Ephraim Amu. I think he’s an amazing writer. Also, I love coming back down down down. Kojo Antwi is an amazing songwriter, Daddy Lumba is an amazing writer as well. I love Martin Nkansah and I love the writing of J. A. Adofo.”
Speaking about current top songwriters, he said admires the songwriting skills of Akwaboah, Cina Soul, Kofi Kinaata, Al and Worlasi.
When asked why Amakye Dede did not make the list he said: “well, Amakye Dede, I love his songs but I also know that he used to have a songwriter some years back. I’ve forgotten his name he’s dead now. This is a story I heard from Akablay and I’ve also heard the same from one of the older musicians so I know that there is some consistency there,” he said.
Trigmatic’s apology
A few days after the incident, Trigmatic in a phone interview on Zylofon FM, apologised for his statement after he had received calls that his statement was false.
“I received series of calls but because I didn’t know some of the numbers, there were some that I didn’t pick up and then I did get some calls from the man himself and he wasn’t too happy with my statement on the show and also Akwasi Aboagye called me and I explained from my angle that it was without any malice, I have no intentions to defame him or anything of that sort so he spoke to me that they’re not happy.
“In order to bring peace and from a very responsible and respectful point, I’d rather not necessarily explain or express cos that will only drag the entire thing. Rather do the needful this morning on the same platform which I suppose gave a statement that they’re not happy about,” he said.
He added that his statement was not intended to tarnish Amakye Dede’s image.
“One thing I want to put out is that I have no intention whatsoever to defame anybody. For my records I’ve been very consistent in honouring some of these legends; I mean from J.A Adofo to Ebo Taylor recently. I wish I got the same clouts for it when I did these events. However, it just happened that it has to be so and I just want to take this opportunity to render an apology that whatever I said that didn’t go well with the man himself, not only because he’s a musician but also because he’s a predecessor and he’s a legend,” he said.