The High Court has dismissed a GH¢15 million defamation case brought by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin against Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) Chief Executive Sammy Gyamfi, citing fundamental procedural defects in the writ.
The court’s General Jurisdiction 1 division ruled that the writ was incurably defective and incompetent, concluding that it failed to properly invoke the court’s jurisdiction.
In reaching its decision, the court referenced Coleman v Newmont in relation to the applicable procedural rule and Owusu Domena on the importance of raising objections without delay.
The ruling brings the proceedings initiated under the defective writ to an end but does not address whether the statements at the centre of the dispute amounted to defamation.
Afenyo-Markin announced the legal action in Parliament on August 24, following allegations of extortion against him in a dispute involving GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Multimedia Group Limited was also listed as a defendant in the case.
The Minority Leader has consistently denied the allegations, describing them as false and intended to undermine his reputation.
The proceedings were also accompanied by a disagreement over the service of court documents. Gyamfi authorised his legal representatives, Ayine & Partners, to accept the writ, while Afenyo-Markin’s lawyers subsequently maintained that service had been completed and dismissed suggestions that their client was evading the legal process.
The court’s decision was limited to the procedural validity of the lawsuit and does not establish whether the allegations underlying the dispute are true or false.
