An order of substituted service was issued against Ghana Athletics (GA), its president Bawa Fusieni, vice president Charles Osei Asibey, and technical head Andrew Owusu after they reportedly evaded being served with a writ in a GHC100 million defamation lawsuit filed by Wisdom Loh, a former Ghanaian national athlete based in the United States.
The writ, as reported by the Daily Graphic, accuses the defendants of falsely alleging that Loh abused athletes, sexually abused minors, and brought disrepute to the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA).
The case originates from a GA investigation into safeguarding concerns involving athletics coaches, which resulted in the suspension of Loh and Jeffrey Nkrumah under Article 33:17 of the World Athletics Integrity Code of Conduct.
The GA claimed the probe examined whether their actions facilitated the exploitation of athletes, both in Ghana and abroad. However, Loh’s legal representative, James Addo, refutes these claims, stating that Loh has never been a coach or manager for any Ghanaian athletes.
Instead, Addo portrays Loh as a philanthropist who supports Ghanaian athletes by securing university scholarships and providing financial aid at his own expense, without seeking reward.
This lawsuit follows a precedent set by a previous defamation case where former athletics chief George Haldane Lutterodt won GHC500,000 against Andrew Owusu, underscoring ongoing challenges for GA in maintaining public trust. No recent updates indicate the case’s current status or court outcomes, making it a pivotal moment for GA’s credibility in handling such allegations.
Background
A month ago former national athlete, based in the United States, Wisdom Loh instituted a GHC100 million Cedis defamation suit against Ghana Athletics, its president, Bawa Fusieni, vice president, Charles Osei Asibey, and the technical head, Andrew Owusu.
The writ of summons which was sighted by the Daily Graphic accused the defendants of accusing the complainant of abusing athletes, sexually abusing minors and bringing the name of the GAA into disrepute.
It could be recalled that Ghana Athletics (GA) launched a comprehensive safeguarding related investigation into the activities of some athletics coaches.
After the said investigation, the GA consequently suspended Wisdom Loh and Jeffrey Nkrumah with immediate effect barring them from all GA related activities.
The GA cited the World Athletics Code of Conduct (Article33:17 of the World Athletics Integrity Code of Conduct as the reason for their suspension.
“The investigation was also interrogating whether their actions has directly or indirectly facilitated the exploitation of athletes, whether based in Ghana or foreign-based Ghanaian athletes”, the GA statement read at that time.
But according to the legal representative of Wisdom Loh, James Addo, Mr Loh had never been a coach or manager of any Ghanaian athletes nor represented any athlete in any capacity.
“Mr Loh is a private individual and a former national level athlete who, in appreciation of the opportunities that athletics offered him and with a desire to give back to the sport and the country, freely assists Ghanaian athletes seeking entrance and scholarships into university athletics programmes and provides assistance to Ghanaian athletes on a purely philanthropic basis without reward and to his considerable personal expense,” the writeup stated.
The case was expected to be another test case for the GA and how it stuttered to regain the trust of Ghanaians after a similar case saw former athletics chief, George Haldane Lutterodt win a GHC500,000 defamation case against Andrew Owusu a few years before.
