Baaba Sam files violation of child rights, defamation action against Kwaku Baako Jr, Crusading Guide

Karen Baaba Sam, the young mother at the heart of a child custody battle with the father of her six-year-old daughter, has instituted an action at the High Court in Accra against The New Crusading Guide newspaper, its publisher Kweku Baako Jr, and the editor of the paper, Ernest Addo, over what she describes as a “false, malicious and defamatory” publication that has caused her and her six-year old daughter severe emotional and reputational harm.

According to a Writ of Summons issued and filed at the High Court registry on 11 July 2025, Baaba Sam, who is suing on her behalf and that of her daughter (referred to as minor “O”), is seeking among other things: a declaration that the defendants’ publications are defamatory, general and aggravated damages, a public retraction and apology, and an injunction restraining any further publications relating to her and her child.

False publication

The lawsuit stems from a front-page story published by the New Crusading Guide on 2 July 2025, with the headline: “Karen Baaba Sam Elopes With Child… Hops Out With ‘Boyfriend’ On Brussels Airline After Losing Custody Battle.”

The article, which included photographs of Baaba and her daughter, claimed that she had fled Ghana illegally with her child in violation of a court order, following an unfavourable ruling in an ongoing child custody case.

In her Statement of Claim, Baaba refuted the assertions in the New Crusading Guide Publication, describing the report as “a grossly malicious account of the court proceedings, plainly calculated to cast the Plaintiff (Karen Baaba Sam) as a criminal who has eloped from justice.”

Baaba’s pleadings

Ms Karen Baaba Sam narrates that the domestic abuse and custody dispute have been pending in the various courts since April 2024, follow years of persistent violent abuses suffered at the hands of her ex-partner and the little child’s father, named Kwadwo Adjei (popularly called Nana Adjei) which abuses compelled Plaintiff to terminate her relationship with the Nana Adjei.

“The Pending cases are yet to even proceed to trial and for judgments to be delivered by the respective courts, together with several associated suits that have since been filed.

“Pending the final determination of the domestic abuse and child custody case, the respective courts have made several interlocutory orders since April 2024, including one made on 24 March 2025 wherein the Plaintiff (Baaba Sam) was granted interim access to the little child on weekdays and the father was granted interim access on weekends.

“On 11 June 2025, the interim access orders were quashed by another court at the instance of the father (Nana Adjei), and following which Karen Baaba Sam exercised her rights and picked up her little child from school.

“21 days later and during the little child’s school vacation, she (Baaba Sam) was confronted with countless calls and panicked enquiries early morning of Wednesday 2 July 2025 from family members, friends, acquaintances, and colleagues enquiring about her and her child, their safety, and whereabouts.

“Whereupon Ms Sam says she was informed that photographs of her and her little child had been splashed on the front page of the Vol. 17 No. 080 issue of the New Crusading Guide newspaper with the bold caption: “Karen Baaba Sam Elopes With Child…Elops Out With Boyfriend On Brussels Airline After Losing Custody Battle”.

Ms Baaba Sam further narrates in her pleadings that “the photograph of her and her little child was one of only four colour-printed headline stories, and the second largest front page publication, with readers directed to the main story on page 3 of the newspaper.

“At the directed page 3, the 3rd Defendant had devoted an entire half- page to author and publish gross falsehoods, laced with half-truths, deceptive words and implications of a criminal, such as “slippery lady”, “fled the shores of Ghana”, “traffick [ed] the girl child from Ghana”, amidst others in an utterly false, misleading and malicious account of the court proceedings, plainly calculated to and casting the Plaintiff as a “criminal who has “eloped from justice, among others.”

According to Ms Sam, “at the time of the publication, the custody and domestic abuse proceedings had not yet concluded and were still pending in court. She explained that the court had issued interim access orders, which were later quashed at the request of the child’s father. Following this, she legally picked up her daughter from school on June 11, 2025.

“Despite this, the New Crusading Guide newspaper claimed she had “fled the shores of Ghana,” “trafficked the girl child,” and had done so with the help of a male acquaintance, whom the article identified as her boyfriend.” The publication further alleged that “available evidence, including flight manifest and other documented evidence showed that Baaba departed Ghana on a Brussels flight June 13…”

“These statements were not only false and misleading, but also intentionally framed to portray her as a “slippery lady” and a fugitive engaged in child trafficking. She described the language used, such as “fled the shores of Ghana,” “trafficked the girl child,” and “refused to return the child”, as criminalizing, slanderous, and damaging to her dignity and safety,” Baaba Sam stated in her pleadings.

Consistent pattern

Ms Baaba Sam further indicated in her statement of claim that the “conduct of the defendants follows a consistent pattern that has continued from January 2025, and orchestrated to expose her to emotional, psychological and physical abuses and threats, and in complete violation of statutory laws for the protection of persons such as her and her infant child from harm and injuries from such publications.”

“The Defendants are not only engaged in defaming and lowering her esteem and reputation in the eyes and minds of the ordinary members of the public, but also embarked on a crusading enterprise to make and reap immense commercial gains from the extremely traumatic ordeals she and her little child continue to be subjected to, by the persistent false, injurious and sensational publications of and concerning her.

Illegal CCTV footage

Karen Baaba Sam states that in their (the defendants’) quest to defame her for commercial gain, the Defendants flagrantly disregarded laws against the publication that identifies a child in domestic abuse and custody matters.

Karen Baaba Sam adds that “the Defendants went to the extent of procuring persons holding offices in both the public service and the private sector, mainly in the security, communication and information services, and funded by Kwadwo Adjei, to procure statutorily restricted records about the her and her little child, to perpetrate their defamatory, damaging and injurious conduct against her and her little child.

“Plaintiff (Baaba Sam) adds that the images published were illegally procured from security footage from CCTV surveillance cameras installed at places such as the airports, in gross violation of the rights of Ms Baaba Sam and her little child.”

Reliefs sought

In light of the harm caused, Ms Baaba Sam is seeking eight reliefs. First is a declaration that the defendants’ publications are defamatory. Second, a declaration that the defendants publications violate the statutorily guaranteed rights of protection and security of her and her little child “O”.

Third, General damages for defamation. Fourth, general damages for the egregious violation of the guaranteed rights of protection and security of the Plaintiff (Ms Baaba Sam) and her little child. Fifth, aggravated, punitive, as well as exemplary damages for the defendants’ grossly unwarranted and unjustified publications.”

Sixth, an order compelling the defendants to issue a written retraction of the defamatory statements and render an unqualified apology to Ms Baaba Sam and her little child.”

Seventh, “an order for defendants to publish the retraction and apology in a coloured, front-page publication in the Daily Graphic newspaper, and additionally through the same channels they published the defamatory statements on three consecutive occasions.”

Lastly, “an order restraining the defendants from any further defamatory and otherwise injurious publications of and concerning Ms Karen Baaba Sam and her little child.”