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Veteran Ghanaian High-life musician Gyedu-Blay Ambolley has lost a defamatory lawsuit filed against him by colleague musician Okyeame Kwame, according to sources close to the matter.
The case, which was settled through an arbitration process that was later adopted by the courts as a consent judgement on March 23, 2023, required Ambolley to issue a public apology retracting his defamatory comments against Kwame.
In a post shared on LinkedIn, Ambolley clarified that during an interview on 3FM on February 22, 2020, he was mistaken about some details regarding the use of funds donated by the Ghanaian government to the Musicians Association of Ghana (MUSIGA).
He specifically retracted his earlier comments that Okyeame Kwame received a personal loan from MUSIGA funds and instead explained that MUSIGA entered into an arrangement with Midland Bank to provide security/collateral for loans to support artists and that Okyeame Kwame had applied for and received a loan from the bank and had since paid it back in full.
“I was mistaken concerning some of the details of the matter, particularly with respect to my colleague musician and MUSIGHA member Kwame Nsiah Apau also known as Okyeame Kwame and I wish to correct and clarify those facts,” the post read.
Ambolley’s earlier interview on 3 FM alleged that the former President of MUSIGA, Bice Osei Kuffour ‘Obour, had shared an amount of GHc2 million given to the union by the government among some musicians, including Okyeame Kwame.
However, Ambolley later apologised for any harm that his comments may have caused Kwame’s reputation and clarified that he did not make the errors in his statements maliciously.
Read the full post below.
“In the course of an interview on 3FM on the 22nd of February 2020 concerning the use of some funds donated by the Government of Ghana to the Musicians Association of Ghana (MUSIGHA), I was mistaken concerning some of the details of the matter, particularly with respect to my colleague musician and MUSIGHA member Kwame Nsiah Apau also known as Okyeame Kwame and I wish to correct and clarify those facts as follows: Obour did not give Okyeame Kwame a personal loan from MUSIGHA funds.
To support artists and enable them access to loans, MUSIGHA entered an arrangement with Midland Bank and provided security/collateral for the arrangement. Okyeame Kwame only took advantage of the initiative and applied for a loan from Midland Bank which he was given.
He has informed me that he has since paid back the bank in full.
To the extent that my earlier statements may have affected the reputation of Okyeame Kwame, I apologise and state that the errors in my statements were not made maliciously.”
