Afenyo-Markin urged to drop defamation suit against Sammy Gyamfi

Private legal practitioner Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers urged Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin to drop his defamation suit against Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) CEO Sammy Gyamfi following the High Court's decision to dismiss the case. Speaking on GBC’s Current Agenda, Brako-Powers viewed the lawsuit as a trap Afenyo-Markin should not have taken and advised him to let the matter rest.

He argued that Afenyo-Markin should have exercised greater caution before initiating legal action due to the circumstances surrounding the dispute. The court's ruling centered on procedural requirements and did not determine the substantive allegations between the two men. The dispute originated from comments made by Gyamfi during an August 22, 2026, JoyNews Newsfile programme, where he called Afenyo-Markin an "extortionist" regarding the Bank of Ghana's Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and reported losses of US$1.7 billion.

Afenyo-Markin subsequently filed a GH¢15 million defamation suit against Gyamfi and Multimedia Group Limited, the parent company of JoyNews, on August 24, 2026. However, the Accra High Court struck out the suit on October 14, 2026, due to procedural issues with the writ of summons. The court found that the writ did not contain sufficient particulars to identify the allegedly defamatory publication.

Afenyo-Markin's lawyers expressed intention to pursue the matter further after reviewing the full judgment, but Brako-Powers cautioned against prolonging the dispute and urged Afenyo-Markin to consider ending the matter.