Afenyo Markin Recieves Bad News

The High Court in Accra has reportedly struck out a GH¢15 million defamation case filed by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin against Ghana Gold Board Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi and Multimedia Group Limited.

The dispute arose from comments Gyamfi allegedly made during an appearance on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme, where he reportedly referred to the Effutu MP as an “extortionist”.

Afenyo-Markin subsequently initiated legal proceedings in August 2026, contending that the remarks were false and had the potential to damage his standing as a politician, lawyer and prominent public figure.

His lawsuit also targeted Multimedia Group Limited, which owns JoyNews, over the publication and broadcast of the disputed comments. The legislator asked the court to award him damages and compel the defendants to retract the statements, issue a public apology and refrain from making similar remarks in the future.

According to a report by GhanaWeb, the court delivered its decision on October 14, 2026, ruling that the writ was fundamentally flawed and could not validly establish the court’s jurisdiction.

The court reportedly described the action as “incurably defective, incompetent and incapable of properly invoking the Court’s jurisdiction”.

In arriving at its decision, the court was said to have relied on principles associated with Coleman v Newmont, relating to procedural requirements, and Owusu Domena, which addresses the timely raising of legal objections.

The ruling indicates that the case was dismissed on procedural and jurisdictional grounds. It does not, based on the available report, establish whether the disputed remarks were defamatory.

The requested remedies included general damages for libel, aggravated damages and exemplary damages arising from the alleged statements.

He also wanted the defendants ordered to withdraw the remarks completely and issue a clear, unconditional apology to him.

The Minority Leader further requested that any retraction and apology receive comparable visibility to the original publication. His demands included broadcasting the corrective statements on JoyNews and publishing them across the relevant digital and social media platforms where the disputed comments had appeared.

Additionally, Afenyo-Markin asked the court to impose a permanent injunction barring the defendants, their agents, representatives and other persons acting on their behalf from repeating the alleged defamatory words or making statements with substantially similar meanings about him.

The MP’s claims also included GH¢15 million in compensation, legal costs and any other remedies the court considered appropriate.

With the suit reportedly dismissed, the reliefs sought were not granted through the proceedings. The available report did not indicate whether Afenyo-Markin intends to challenge the decision or pursue any further legal action.

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