Ghanaian veteran, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley according to sources has lost a defamation lawsuit launched against him by colleague musician Okyeame Kwame.
The dispute, which was resolved through an arbitration procedure and eventually recognised by the courts as a consent decision on March 23, 2023, forced Ambolley to give a public apology retracting his defamatory remarks against Kwame.
Ambolley acknowledged in a LinkedIn post that he was misinformed about several specifics surrounding the utilisation of cash granted by the Ghanaian government to the Musicians Association of Ghana (MUSIGA) during an interview on 3FM on February 22, 2020.
He specifically retracted his earlier statements that Okyeame Kwame received a personal loan from MUSIGA funds, instead explaining that MUSIGA entered into an agreement with Midland Bank to provide security/collateral for loans to artists and that Okyeame Kwame had applied for and received a loan from the bank, which he had since paid 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
In a prior interview on 3FM, Ambolley said that the former President of MUSIGA, Bice Osei Kuffour ‘Obour, divided a GHc2 million government grant with various singers, including Okyeame Kwame.
Ambolley then apologised for any harm his words may have caused Kwame’s reputation and stressed that the inaccuracies in his statements were not made deliberately.
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 apologize and state that the errors in my statements were not made maliciously.”
