A lawyer for the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, Seth Anyaaba, has explained why the GH¢15 million defamation suit filed against his client by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin was dismissed.

According to him, the writ was thrown out by the High Court on October 14, 2026, because it did not comply with the rules of court.

High Court throws out Afenyo-Markin’s GH¢15m defamation suit against Sammy Gyamfi

He explained that the legal team challenged the suit because Afenyo-Markin had failed to include the alleged defamatory statement in the writ, as required under Order 57 Rule 2 of the court rules.

“So, when Afenyo-Markin filed his defamation action, we took the view that the writ, which has just been set aside by the court, did not comply with the rules of court, particularly Order 57 Rule 2, which mandatorily requires that you must endorse the alleged defamatory statement of the defendant on the writ,” he said.

Anyaaba said the court agreed with their argument and set aside the suit, which was filed on August 24, 2026.

“Essentially, the court agreed with the argument that we conversed before it. So, what it means is that the action which was instituted by Afenyo-Markin on 24 August 2026 against Sammy Gyamfi is no more in existence in the sense that it has been set aside and dismissed by the High Court,” he added.

However, the lawyer clarified that the court did not determine whether the alleged comments by Gyamfi were defamatory.

He said the decision was based on a procedural issue concerning the validity of the suit.

Anyaaba added that Afenyo-Markin could still file a fresh case if he wished because the court had not considered the substance of his claims.

“So, clearly, the action was not determined on its merits. It was a procedural determination of the competence of the suit, so once the merits of the case weren't determined, he's entitled, if he so wishes, to file a fresh action,” he stated.

“We wish that given the community they find themselves being politicians, they can find a way to talk around these issues,” he added.

Background

Afenyo-Markin filed the GH¢15 million defamation suit against Gyamfi and Multimedia Group Limited, the parent company of JoyNews, in August 2026.

The case followed comments Gyamfi allegedly made during an edition of JoyNews' Newsfile programme, in which he described the Effutu MP as an “extortionist”.

Afenyo-Markin argued that the remarks were false and could damage his reputation as a lawyer, politician and public figure.

GH¢15m Compensation and More: Details of Afenyo-Markin's suit against Sammy Gyamfi, others

He asked the court to award him damages and order the defendants to publish a full retraction and an unconditional public apology. He also sought an injunction to prevent them from publishing the alleged defamatory words or statements with a similar meaning in the future.

Additionally, he wanted the retraction and apology to be broadcast on JoyNews and published on the electronic and social media platforms through which the original statements were disseminated, with substantially the same prominence and reach.

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