MURPHY J.: (His Lordship stated the facts and proceeded): -
I do not consider there is any substance in the submission that this action, being one for slander, should have filed because there was no proof of special damage. Under section 9(a) of the Native Courts (Ashanti) Ordinance native courts are charged to administer native law and custom.
They can scarcely be expected to understand, let alone to administer, the intricacies of the English law of defamation. Other things being equal, in my view no objection could be taken to the Court’s awarding a small sum to the plaintiff to compensate him for injury to his reputation.
However, this case must be considered in the light of what was in fact said by the defendant, and of the circumstances in which the words were spoken. In parenthesis, I would say that I find it difficult to see how the words complained of could be said to be defamatory.
But a more important consideration is that the words complained of were words spoken in the course …