Mrs. Gbemudu, a publicly visible personality, a vocal and regular voice on radio, has an only daughter, Evelyn, who was attending a high brow primary school in the city. Sadly, though, Mrs. Gbemudu had consistently failed to pay Evelyn’s fees for two terms, despite several opportunities to do so. She was not in financial distress. It was just not her priority. This being the third term, the principal of the school – Mrs. Petgrave – was left no option than to issue Evelyn a “stay at home “ order, pending the payment of her fees.

Mrs. Gbemudu’s reaction was to storm the principal’s office and withdraw Evelyn from the school. She then proceeded to enroll her in another school at the other end of the city. Given the unusual timing for a school change, Mrs. Gbemudu told the new school that she had just moved into town and had to move with her only daughter. However, unbeknownst to Mrs. Gbemudu, the principal of the new school had reached out to Mrs. Petgrave to obtain a referral as to Evelyn’s academic and moral records. This was precipitated by the interview between the Head teacher and  Evelyn, during which Evelyn let the name of her old school slip. The Headteacher used the Internet facilities to locate the address of the school. To her amazement, the school was located in the same city. She revealed her findings to the principal, who decided to send an e-mail to the school requesting Evelyn’s academic and moral record.

The response to the new Principal was, “Unfortunately, we are not in a position to provide you with the requested records because her fees have remained unpaid. When the debt is liquidated, we will respond.” Consequently, Evelyn was turned down by the new school, and Mrs. Gbemudu was informed that Evelyn’s previous academic and moral records were required, but her previous school was not forthcoming.

A furious Mrs. Gbemudu stormed out of the principal’s office and stormed into Evelyn’s previous school, where she yelled, “How dare you! What you have done is tantamount to defamation of my character, and I will ensure it is aired on radio. This calumny will not go unchecked, and you will hear from my lawyer.”

Incidentally, Mrs. Gbemudu was a keen participant in radio programs often condemning corruption and castigating government officials and agencies for their role in corruption.

The principal of Evelyn’s previous school felt threatened and concerned about the negative impact Mrs. Gbemudu’s action could have on the school. Could she be sued for defamation of character and what rights, if any, cover her? Suddenly, she remembered one of the maxims of equity she had come across while in school. “He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.” Can Mrs. Gbemudu’s action be considered fair and just in neglecting to liquidate her debt? Does refusing to co-operate with the new school with relation to furnishing requested information constitute an actionable offence? Maybe she should have been silent on the reason for her reticence. What do you think?

Love

Havilah