Pay GH¢4m damages to Sir Sam Jonah for defamation

The High Court in Accra has ordered Angel FM, GhanaWeb and other defendants to pay GH¢4 million to prominent Ghanaian business executive, Sir Sam Jonah, for defamatory comments against him.

In a judgment delivered on December 12, 2025, the court, presided over by Justice John Bosco Nabarese of the Court of Appeal (sitting as an additional High Court judge), held that statements made by one Jonathan Pobee during a radio interview on Angel FM and subsequently published by Angel Broadcasting Services and GhanaWeb were false and defamatory.

The court further granted a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from repeating the defamatory statements. It also awarded GH¢50,000 in costs against them.

The case arose from an interview broadcast in April 2022 on Angel FM, during which Jonathan Pobee made allegations against Sir Sam Jonah regarding Sir Sam Jonah's tenure as Chairman of Ashanti Gold Football Club.

Mr Pobee alleged that Sir Sam had used his wealth and influence to manipulate football matches and claimed that he had once attempted to bribe him (Pobee) to influence the outcome of a match involving Neoplan Stars.

During the programme, employees of Angel FM repeated the allegations, which were broadcast to a wide audience.

The interview was later published by Angel Broadcasting Services, the third defendant, on its YouTube and Facebook platforms.

GhanaWeb subsequently carried an article headlined “Sir Sam Jonah hit with match-fixing allegations,” with a link to the video on the third defendant’s YouTube channel.

Suit

Sir Sam, in his suit, denied the allegations and contended that they were entirely false, malicious and defamatory.

He told the court that the statements had caused serious damage to his reputation, exposed him to public ridicule and undermined his standing as a respected business leader.

He, therefore, sought declarations that the statements were false and defamatory, an order restraining the defendants from publishing further defamatory material about him, as well as damages and costs.

In upholding his claims, the court found in his favour and imposed joint and several liability on the defendants for the payment of the GH¢4 million damages, in addition to the injunctive reliefs and costs. Sir Sam was represented in court by Pappa Kweku Ankomah and Rodney Assan.