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Afenyo Markin sues Sammy Gyamfi, Multimedia for alleged defamation
Minority Leader in Parliament Alexander Afenyo Markin has sued the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, and Multimedia Group Limited over alleged defamatory comments made against him on the Newsfile programme.
In a writ filed at the High Court in Accra, Mr Afenyo Markin is seeking GH¢15 million in damages, an apology and retraction of the statements, among other reliefs.
The suit follows comments allegedly made by Mr Gyamfi during the Saturday, August 22, 2026 edition of Newsfile, hosted by Samson Lardy Anyenini.
According to the statement of claim, Mr Gyamfi described Mr Afenyo Markin as an “extortionist” while responding to a question about GoldBod’s reported profits and its position on losses arising from its operations.
The plaintiff claims that Mr Gyamfi repeated the allegation when the host sought clarification on whether he stood by the description.
Mr Afenyo Markin further claims that Mr Gyamfi challenged him to sue him and insisted that the allegation was true.
The plaintiff argues that the statements created the impression that he engages in extortion, uses his political influence to put improper pressure on public institutions and officials, and conducts himself in a manner inconsistent with the standards expected of a lawyer and public office holder.
He denies the allegations and maintains that he is not an extortionist and has never engaged in the conduct alleged by Mr Gyamfi.
The Minority Leader also argues that the comments were made maliciously and were presented as facts without evidence being disclosed.
He claims the statements have damaged his reputation, professional standing and public image, particularly because of his position as a senior political figure and legal practitioner.
The suit also names Multimedia Group Limited as a defendant because, according to the plaintiff, the alleged defamatory comments were broadcast through JoyNews and subsequently circulated on social media platforms, including X, Facebook and YouTube.
Mr Afenyo Markin claims Multimedia failed to stop the comments or deactivate Mr Gyamfi’s microphone after the allegations were made.
He is therefore asking the court to award him general, aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as GH¢15 million in compensation and legal costs.
He is also seeking an order compelling the defendants to issue a full, unconditional and unequivocal retraction and public apology.
The plaintiff wants the apology and retraction to be given similar prominence and reach as the original publication, including through JoyNews and the social media platforms where the comments were disseminated.
He is further seeking a permanent injunction preventing the defendants from repeating the alleged defamatory statements or words with a similar meaning.
The writ requires the defendants to enter an appearance within eight days after being served.
It warns that failure to do so could result in judgment being entered in their absence.
The case was filed by lawyer Paa Kwesi Abaidoo of Dehyena Chambers on behalf of Mr Afenyo Markin.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The 30th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards has celebrated three decades of recognising excellence and contributions to journalism and national development, while highlighting the media’s role in Ghana’s democracy.
Marking the milestone, Philip Osei Bonsu of the Multimedia Group emerged as the GJA/P.A.V. Ansah Journalist of the Year.
The Ghanaian Times’ Benedicta Gyimah Foley won the Best Feature Reporting, Print category, alongside other journalists recognised across various media platforms.
Other winners included Nathaniel Attoh, Best in Sports Reporting; and Godwin Asediba of Media General, Best in TV Documentary; Doreen Ampofo of GBC, Best in Radio Documentary; and freelance journalist Nii Adjei Mensahfio, Best in Online Documentary.
Daniel Kwabena Mantey was adjudged Best in TV Feature, while Clinton Yeboah of Luv FM won Best in Radio Feature, with Gilbert Azeem Tiroog of GNA taking Best in Online Features.
For news reporting, Mohammed Fugu of the Daily Graphic won Best in Print News Reporting, Nabil Ahmed Rufai, a freelance journalist, Best in TV News Reporting; Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman of EIB Network, Best in Radio News Reporting; and Timothy Ngnenbe of the Daily Graphic, Best in Online News.
The ceremony, held in Accra last Saturday on the theme, “Celebrating Excellence, Advancing Media Freedom and Combating Hate Speech in the Digital Age”, was attended by President John Dramani Mahama as the special guest of honour.
Also in attendance were the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, among others.
In his address, President Mahama announced a GH₵10 million allocation in the 2027 national budget as seed capital for the reactivated Media Development Fund to support journalists’ welfare, professional development, investigative reporting and safety training, with additional corporate contributions expected.
Mr Mahama, also urged media practitioners to uphold professionalism and accuracy by avoiding sensationalism, unsubstantiated allegations and the deliberate pursuit of scandals, while promptly correcting inaccurate reports and apologising when necessary to maintain public trust and professional standards.
On journalists’ safety, he assured that the government would continue to act against attacks on them.
By Stephanie Birikorang
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Today, I focus on the theme of Ghanaian/African migrants in Finland and economic empowerment, a move away from the topic of personalities or groups and their accomplishments within the Ghanaian community in Finland that I have been writing on.
In recent times, African migrant associations and Finnish institutions are organising meetings or forums and help people seeking employment to meet employers or build professional networks to achieve economic empowerment.
Such forums are usually open to their members and anyone of African descent.to get into the Finnish job market.
Competences
Researchers and experts say entrepreneurship or self-employment has great potential to offer a route for migrants, including highly-educated ones, to participate in and contribute to the local economy.
Competences, including knowledge and knowhow, opportunities, and social capital such as family support, language, etc., are necessary to boost the entrepreneurship endeavour.
Competence in the official Finnish or Swedish languages is undoubtedly a key quality to improve employment prospects, especially for migrants since the overall unemployment among migrants could be higher than in the mainstream Finnish population.
There could also be particular privileges which may be the provision of the right information for potential entrepreneurs or job seekers.
Barriers and stress factors
Although language has a huge potential to contribute positively to entrepreneurship possibilities, studies have shown that some of the major stress factors are language problems, finances or economic capital among African migrants.
Other barriers or challenges may be how to grow the business venture or its sustainability.
Thus, migrant communities can generally be highly vulnerable to language barrier, lack of information, the nature of the work of migrants in professions where working from home is not possible.
Migrant associations, social networks, and information
By their activities, migrant associations are doing much to educate and create awareness as well as enhance economic empowerment through migrants’ entrepreneurship or self-employment and enhance opportunities.
Such associations and institutions become networks that create an important social capital as well as outlets for sharing and gaining information or knowledge. Also, it will all be for societal good if such activities are able to help reduce stress and anxiety in the migrants’ entrepreneurship endeavours.
As I keep pointing out, Finland is committed to the integration of migrants into the Finnish society. A number of research studies from surveys and other in-depth enquiries have shown a trend of increasing efforts to integrate African and other migrants into the Finnish society.
Public agencies, migrant associations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Finland have been publishing information to help educate people, which is also good for their wellbeing.
Generally, migrant associations formally create awareness among their members and other migrants usually in collaboration with some Finnish institutions, and are thus an important tool for several migrants to be positively active and to get their interests and claims heard.
As I wrote previously, the role of migrant associations acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
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