The High Court’s General Jurisdiction 1 has thrown out Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s GH¢15 million defamation suit against Ghana Gold Board Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi.
The court found the writ incurably defective and incompetent, ruling that it could not properly invoke the court’s jurisdiction.
In reaching its decision, the court relied on Coleman v Newmont on the applicable procedural rule and Owusu Domena on the requirement to raise objections promptly.
The ruling ends the proceedings under the defective writ. It concerns the procedural validity of the action rather than a determination of whether the statements complained of were defamatory.
Mr Afenyo-Markin announced the legal action in Parliament on 24 August 2026, saying it followed allegations of extortion made against him amid a dispute over GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
The High Court suit also named Multimedia Group Limited as a defendant.
The Minority Leader maintained that the allegations were false and intended to damage his reputation.
The case subsequently 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.