Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has urged Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin not to return to court over his GH¢15 million defamation suit against Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi, following the dismissal of the case by the High Court.
According to him, the two parties should resolve the matter amicably, arguing that continued litigation could undermine cooperation between the government and opposition Members of Parliament.
Speaking on JoyFM’s Top Story on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Mr Kpebu said the dismissal of the suit meant there was no pending case preventing public discussion of the issues surrounding it.
“Once the writ has been struck out, or the case has been dismissed, there’s nothing before the court, so there’s no risk at all. You discuss it, you’re free to,” he said.
On Wednesday, October 14, the High Court’s General Jurisdiction 1 threw out Mr Afenyo-Markin’s GH¢15 million defamation suit, ruling that the writ was incurably defective and incompetent and could not properly invoke the court’s jurisdiction.
The court relied on Coleman v Newmont on the applicable procedural rule and Owusu Domena on the requirement to raise objections promptly.
The ruling brought proceedings under the defective writ to an end but did not determine whether the statements complained of were defamatory.
Mr Afenyo-Markin announced the lawsuit in Parliament on August 24, 2026, following allegations of extortion made against him amid a dispute involving GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
The suit named Mr Gyamfi and Multimedia Group Limited as defendants, with the Minority Leader maintaining that the allegations were false and intended to damage his reputation.
The case also generated disagreement over service of the writ. Mr Gyamfi authorised his lawyers, Ayine & Partners, to accept the court documents, while Mr Afenyo-Markin’s lawyers later said service had been completed and rejected claims that their client was avoiding it.
Responding to a question on whether the media could continue reporting on the controversy without risking contempt of court or breaching an injunction, Mr Kpebu said there was no legal impediment he was aware of following the dismissal of the suit.
He, however, cautioned that media discussions could still expose individuals to fresh legal action if they involved defamatory statements.
“Except, of course, if in discussing it, maybe certain statements are made which are defamatory, then I think Afenyo-Markin deserves the right to sue again,” he said.
Despite this, Mr Kpebu urged the Minority Leader not to return to court over the existing dispute, calling for an amicable resolution.
“I also believe he shouldn’t go. I think he shouldn’t go back to court,” he added.
Mr Kpebu argued that litigation of this nature could strain relations between the government and opposition lawmakers, particularly when both sides continued to engage in public business despite their political differences.
He said successive governments had supported opposition MPs in various ways, including through development projects such as road construction in their constituencies.
“It’s not just this government. For as long as I’ve been politically aware, government often engages opposition MPs and tries to support them,” he said.
He maintained that such engagements were not unusual in Ghana’s political system and questioned the sustainability of pursuing legal action while the government and opposition continued to cooperate on other matters.