In the High Court in Accra, prominent telecommunications giant MTN Ghana (Scancom PLC) is the target of a case spearheaded by Abdulai Mohammed Mubarak, also known as Ras Mubarak, a former member of parliament for Kumbungu and former chief executive of the National Youth Authority. Mubarak claims that the telecom behemoth failed to provide him roaming services while he was on a business trip abroad, and he is suing for $5 million in damages. The lawsuit, filed on November 27, 2024, details the former MP's complaints, which include a violation of contract, harm to the MP's reputation, and monetary loss as a result of MTN Ghana's failure to activate its roaming service in spite of previous agreements.
Specifics of the assertion According to Mubarak's statement of claim, he has depended on MTN's services for more than 20 years in order to manage his personal affairs, conduct business, and fulfill his commitments to his family both domestically and abroad. Mubarak turned on MTN's roaming service prior to leaving on a business trip to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey in September 2024. But when he got to his first destination, he found that he was unable to connect to the network. According to Mubarak's court filing, "I tried numerous times without success to access my mobile phone service, making it impossible to receive calls, send or receive SMS, and access internet data service."
He further claimed that he suffered greatly as a result of MTN Ghana's inability to address the problem in spite of several complaints. "The disruption caused by the defendant's failure... caused irreparable harm to my business, including lost business opportunities and serious harm to my reputation," Mubarak stated. As he was unable to obtain one-time passwords (OTPs) for banking transactions, the former MP further described how the service outage left his family stuck. In order to fulfill my obligations to my family and enterprises, Mubarak continued, "I was made to practically go begging for funds from employees and associates."
Requests for payment Several reliefs are sought in Mubarak's action, including: $1 million in damages for the contract violation. $4 million for inconvenience, hardship, and harm to one's reputation. - Interest at commercial bank lending rates on the amounts granted. Complete compensation for the action's expenses, including legal fees. Additionally, he demanded that the court rule that MTN Ghana had violated the terms of the contract by refusing to give roaming services. According to court documents, MTN Ghana apologized on October 17, 2024, following a demand notice for payment from Mubarak's attorneys. Mubarak, however, criticized the apology as being insufficient and dismissive of the seriousness of his experience.
The defendant trivialized the severity and length of my ordeal by offering only a waiver of my September post-paid bill as compensation, according to Mubarak. Mubarak claimed that MTN Ghana ignored his concerns and that this is why he filed the lawsuit, even after receiving additional correspondence from his attorneys. “Having exhausted all options to amicably resolve my grievances… I am strengthened in my conviction that the Defendant would continue to neglect or trivialise my hardship unless obliged by the orders of this Honourable Court to recompense me,” he said.
Mubarak's declaration on Facebook "I sued MTN Ghana (Scancom PLC LTD) yesterday at the High Court of Justice, praying the Honourable Court awards compensation in the sum of $5 million USD for damages caused by MTN's inability to offer services," Mubarak said on Facebook after the complaint was filed to explain his choice. My attorneys had given MTN Ghana a fair amount of time to apologize and provide fair compensation prior to filing the lawsuit, but regrettably, they hesitated. We must never let large companies take advantage of their customers.