A retired journalist of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Selma Ramatu Al-Hassan, has filed a defamation lawsuit at the High Court in Accra, seeking GH¢10 million in general damages from media personality Captain Smart, Onua TV, and Media General Ghana Limited.
According to court documents, Ms. Al-Hassan alleges that Captain Smart made false and damaging statements about her private life during a broadcast on Onua TV in November 2025.
She claims the host alleged that she had a child out of wedlock with the late former President Jerry John Rawlings — an assertion she has described as entirely false and without any factual basis.
Ms. Al-Hassan contends that the broadcast was widely circulated on social media, exposing her to public ridicule, emotional distress, and severe reputational damage, particularly in light of her long-standing career in public service broadcasting.
Her statement of claim argues that the words used were defamatory in their ordinary meaning and would lead right-thinking members of society to believe she had engaged in immoral conduct and dishonesty.
The retired journalist further maintains that the defendants either knew the statements were false or failed to take reasonable steps to verify the information before broadcasting it.
In addition to the GH¢10 million damages, Ms. Al-Hassan is asking the court to compel the defendants to issue a public retraction and an unqualified apology on the same platforms where the alleged defamatory statements were aired.
She is also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from making or publishing similar allegations about her in the future.
Media General Ghana Limited has been joined in the suit as the owners and operators of Onua TV, making the company liable for the content transmitted on the station.
