Gyedu Blay-Ambulley, a legendary highlife artist, has lost a defamation lawsuit launched against him by veteran hiphop musician Okyeame Kwame.
The dispute, which was resolved through an arbitration process and eventually recognized by the courts as a consent judgment on March 23,2023, compelled Ambolley to submit a public apology retracting his defamatory remarks against Kwame.
Ambolley acknowledged in a LinkedIn post that he was misinformed about several specifics surrounding the utilization of cash granted by the Ghanaian government to the Musicians Association of Ghana (MUSIGA) during an interview on 3FM on February 22, 2020.
He particularly repudiated his prior statements that Okyeame Kwame obtained a personal loan from MUSIGA funds, explaining instead that MUSIGA entered into an agreement with Midland Bank to provide the loan.
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 applied for and received a loan from the bank, which he has 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.
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 apologized 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 apologize and state that the errors in my statements were not made maliciously.”
