The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court judgment that awarded GH¢500,000 in damages to former Energy Minister and former Manhyia South Member
The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court judgment that awarded GH¢500,000 in damages to former Energy Minister and former Manhyia South Member of Parliament, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO), in a defamation suit against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi.
The ruling brings to an end, at the appellate level, a legal battle that has lasted several years over comments made by Mr. Gyamfi during a political press conference in 2019.
The appellate court held that the statements complained of did not amount to defamation, effectively setting aside the entire judgment delivered by the High Court.
The case originated from a press conference organised by the NDC in June 2019 following the high-profile kidnapping of two Canadian women in Kumasi, a case that attracted national and international attention and prompted extensive police investigations.
During the press conference, Sammy Gyamfi alleged that one of the suspects in the kidnapping case, Seidu Yakubu, popularly known as “Mba,” was an “errand boy” for Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh subsequently sued the NDC communicator for defamation, arguing that the statement had falsely associated him with an alleged criminal and had seriously damaged his personal and professional reputation both within Ghana and internationally.
In October 2022, the Accra High Court ruled in favour of Dr. Opoku Prempeh, holding that Sammy Gyamfi’s comments were defamatory.
The High Court awarded the former Minister GH¢500,000 in general damages and an additional GH¢50,000 in legal costs. The court further ordered Sammy Gyamfi to publish a public apology and retract the offending statement.
Following the judgment, Mr. Gyamfi filed an appeal challenging both the findings of the High Court and the damages awarded against him.
Although he subsequently applied for a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal, that application was dismissed, allowing the successful plaintiff to proceed with enforcement of the High Court’s judgment while the appeal remained before the Court of Appeal.
After hearing the appeal, however, the Court of Appeal unanimously found merit in Sammy Gyamfi’s arguments.
The appellate court concluded that the High Court had erred in law by characterising the remarks made during the 2019 press conference as defamatory.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal overturned the entire judgment, setting aside the findings of liability as well as the financial awards made against the NDC National Communications Officer.
The decision effectively relieves Sammy Gyamfi of any obligation to pay the GH¢500,000 damages, the GH¢50,000 legal costs, or comply with the order directing him to apologise and retract the statement.
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