Lawyers for Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin have accused Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi of using procedural tactics to avoid responding to their client’s GH¢15 million defamation suit.
The accusation comes after the High Court in Accra set aside the suit on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, ruling that the writ of summons did not sufficiently specify the statements alleged to be defamatory.
In a statement, Mr Afenyo-Markin’s legal team questioned why Mr Gyamfi had allegedly focused on procedural issues instead of filing a defence to the allegations.
The lawyers said Mr Gyamfi’s legal representatives, Ayine & Partners, had written to the court on August 26 confirming their authority to accept service of the writ on his behalf.
They said the court bailiff subsequently served the documents on the law firm, but the lawyers returned them to the court registry the following day, indicating that their client had changed his mind.
According to Mr Afenyo-Markin’s lawyers, a subsequent attempt to serve the documents personally on Mr Gyamfi at his office was unsuccessful, with the GoldBod CEO allegedly refusing to accept them.
The legal team argued that under the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47), service should be considered complete once a lawyer has undertaken in writing to accept court documents on behalf of a client.
However, the High Court, presided over by Justice Akwasi Agyenim Boateng, ruled that the writ was defective because it failed to sufficiently particularise the alleged defamatory statements, as required under Order 57, Rule 2 of C.I. 47.
The ruling addressed the procedural requirements for filing a defamation case and did not determine whether Mr Gyamfi’s comments were defamatory.
Mr Afenyo-Markin’s lawyers have criticised the decision, arguing that procedural irregularities should not be allowed to undermine substantive justice.
They said they were yet to receive a copy of the court’s ruling as of 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday and would determine their next steps after reviewing it.
The lawyers added that they had instructions from their client to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.
The dispute followed comments made by Mr Gyamfi on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme in August 2026, during which he described Mr Afenyo-Markin as an “extortionist” amid a public debate over the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Mr Afenyo-Markin subsequently sued Mr Gyamfi and Multimedia Group Limited, the parent company of JoyNews, seeking GH¢15 million in damages, a retraction, an apology and a permanent injunction against further publication of the alleged defamatory statements.