The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has sued the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, and the Multimedia Group Limited for defamation over comments describing him as an “extortionist”.
Mr Afenyo-Markin is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as GH¢15 million in compensation, over the alleged defamatory statements made by Mr Gyamfi during a live broadcast of the Newsfile programme on JoyNews.
The plaintiff is also seeking an order directing the defendants to publish a full, unconditional and unequivocal retraction of the alleged defamatory statements and an apology to him.
He further wants the retraction and apology to be published and broadcast with, substantially, the same prominence and reach as the original publication.
The suit, filed at the Accra High Court, also seeks an order restraining the defendants from further publishing the alleged defamatory words or any words to the same or substantially similar effect concerning him.
According to the statement of claim, the alleged defamatory comments were made by Mr Gyamfi during the Saturday, August 22, 2026 edition of Newsfile, a current affairs programme on JoyFM and JoyNews.
The statement said Mr Gyamfi appeared on the programme as a discussant in a discussion concerning GoldBod and allegations of financial losses associated with the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
The plaintiff posits that in the course of the discussion, Mr Gyamfi veered into what he described as an “unscathing attack” on him and described him as an “extortionist”.
The statement of claim said the GoldBod CEO sought to justify the description by stating that he had held several press conferences on political issues but had never used the word “extortion” against any of his critics.
The plaintiff alleges in the statement of claim that Mr Gyamfi further challenged him (plaintiff) to sue if he disagreed with the allegation.
It said Mr Gyamfi also told the host of the programme to offer to represent Mr Afenyo-Markin in court so that the GoldBod CEO could substantiate the allegation.
The plaintiff contended that the statements were false and defamatory of him.
False and malicious
Mr Afenyo-Markin, a lawyer and fourth-term Member of Parliament for Effutu, said the publication had portrayed him to the public as a person who habitually engaged in extortion and used his political position and influence to mount improper pressure on public institutions and officials.
He further said the statements created the impression that he engaged in secret or behind-the-scenes negotiations with public institutions for improper purposes.
The plaintiff said the allegations also portrayed him as a person who abused the influence and authority associated with his position as a public figure and political leader.
Among other things, Mr Afenyo-Markin contended that the statements were particularly damaging because he was a legal practitioner and a senior political figure whose professional and public reputation were of considerable importance.
The plaintiff further alleged that the statements were published maliciously.
He said the use and repetition of the word “extortionist” were deliberate and were made in the context of his criticism of GoldBod over alleged financial losses.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said the allegations were presented as facts rather than opinions.
He consequently denied ever engaging in extortion or any conduct of the nature alleged by the GoldBod CEO.
Multimedia Group sued
The plaintiff also sued the Multimedia Group Limited, the owner of JoyNews, for allegedly publishing and disseminating the statements through its television station and other platforms.
The Minority Leader said the broadcaster allowed the alleged defamatory statements to be made during the programme and subsequently made the recording available to its audience.
The plaintiff said the recording was also circulated on social media platforms, including X, Facebook and YouTube, thereby reaching a substantial number of people.
He is, therefore, seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages, an unconditional retraction and apology, a perpetual injunction against further publication of the alleged defamatory statements, legal costs and any other relief the court may deem fit.
