Ghana High Court: Afenyo-Markin Sammy Gyamfi Defamation Dismissal

• The Ghana High Court dismissed Alexander Afenyo-Markin's GH¢15 million defamation suit against Sammy Gyamfi and Multimedia Group Limited on October 14, 2026.
• The court found the writ to be 'incurably defective and incompetent,' concluding it could not properly invoke the court's jurisdiction.
• The dismissal was based on procedural grounds, not a determination of the defamation claims' merits, citing precedents like Coleman v Newmont and Owusu Domena.
• Afenyo-Markin initiated the suit in August 2026 following extortion allegations related to GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
• A dispute over the service of the writ also occurred, with Gyamfi's lawyers accepting documents while Afenyo-Markin's lawyers affirmed completion of service.

This ruling highlights the critical importance for lawyers to ensure strict procedural compliance when filing writs in the Ghana High Court, as failure to properly invoke jurisdiction can lead to outright dismissal.

The Ghana High Court, specifically its General Jurisdiction 1 division, has dismissed a GH¢15 million defamation lawsuit filed by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin. The suit targeted Sammy Gyamfi, who serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, and also named Multimedia Group Limited as a defendant. The court's decision, rendered on October 14, 2026, effectively ended the proceedings related to this particular writ.

The core reason for the dismissal was the court's finding that the writ was "

The court's determination that the writ was "

Alexander Afenyo-Markin first announced his intention to pursue legal action in Parliament on August 24, 2026. This move followed a series of allegations of extortion made against him, which arose amidst a broader dispute concerning GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme. The Minority Leader consistently maintained that these allegations were entirely false and were specifically intended to damage his professional and personal reputation.

Further complicating the initial stages of the case, a disagreement emerged regarding the proper service of the writ. While Mr. Gyamfi's legal representatives, Ayine & Partners, had authorized the acceptance of the court documents on his behalf, lawyers for Mr. Afenyo-Markin later asserted that service had been successfully completed. They also explicitly rejected any claims suggesting that their client was attempting to evade the service of the legal papers.

This ruling highlights the critical importance for lawyers to ensure strict procedural compliance when filing writs in the Ghana High Court, as failure to properly invoke jurisdiction can lead to outright dismissal. The Afenyo-Markin Sammy Gyamfi defamation dismissal serves as a stark reminder that even high-profile cases, involving significant financial claims and prominent public figures, can be terminated on technical grounds if the foundational legal documents are not correctly constituted.

The court's reliance on established precedents, such as the `Coleman v Newmont Ghana` case concerning applicable procedural rules and the `Owusu Domena case` regarding the prompt raising of objections, underscores the judiciary's commitment to upholding procedural integrity. This outcome reinforces the principle that the Ghana High Court procedural defect, when deemed "

This ruling highlights the critical importance for lawyers to ensure strict procedural compliance when filing writs in the Ghana High Court, as failure to properly invoke jurisdiction can lead to outright dismissal, as demonstrated by the court's reliance on precedents like Coleman v Newmont and Owusu Domena.

Source: Original reporting via Albert Kuzor