Lawyers for Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin have accused Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi of relying on procedural objections to avoid answering allegations in a GH¢15 million defamation lawsuit.
The accusation follows the High Court’s decision on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, to set aside the suit after finding that the writ of summons failed to identify the alleged defamatory statements with sufficient particulars.
In a statement, Mr Afenyo-Markin’s legal team questioned why Mr Gyamfi’s lawyers had challenged the court documents instead of filing a defence to the allegations against their client.
The lawyers said Ayine & Partners, representing Mr Gyamfi, had written to the court on August 26, 2026, confirming their authority to accept service of the writ on his behalf.
According to the legal team, a court bailiff subsequently served the documents on the law firm, but they were returned to the court registry the following day after the firm indicated that its client had changed his mind.
They further alleged that a later attempt to serve Mr Gyamfi personally at his office was unsuccessful.
Mr Afenyo-Markin’s lawyers argued that under the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47), service should be deemed complete once a lawyer has undertaken in writing to accept court documents for a client.
However, the court ruled that the writ was defective under Order 57, Rule 2 of the rules, which requires sufficient particulars of the publication complained of in a defamation action.
The suit arose from comments Mr Gyamfi allegedly made about Mr Afenyo-Markin during an August edition of JoyNews’ Newsfile programme. The Minority Leader is seeking GH¢15 million in damages over remarks he considers defamatory.
The court’s ruling addressed the procedural validity of the case and did not determine whether the statements were defamatory. Mr Afenyo-Markin’s legal team has indicated that it intends to pursue the matter further.
