The Court of Appeal has overturned the GH¢500,000 defamation judgment awarded to former Education Minister and 2024 NPP running mate, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO), ruling that comments made by National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Communications Officer Sammy Gyamfi were not defamatory.
The decision sets aside the October 2022 High Court judgment, which had found Mr. Gyamfi liable for defamation and ordered him to pay GH¢500,000 in damages, GH¢50,000 in legal costs, as well as issue a public apology and retract the statements.
In its ruling, the appellate court held that the trial court erred in concluding that the remarks made during a June 2019 press conference amounted to defamation. The judges consequently upheld Mr. Gyamfi’s appeal and nullified the entire judgment against him.
The legal dispute originated from comments made by Mr. Gyamfi following the kidnapping of two Canadian women in Ghana in 2019. During the press conference, he alleged that Seidu Yakubu, also known as “Mba”—a suspect in the kidnapping case—was an “errand boy” of Dr. Opoku Prempeh.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh subsequently sued for defamation, arguing that the allegations had damaged his reputation both in Ghana and internationally.
The Accra High Court ruled in his favour in 2022, awarding substantial damages and directing Mr. Gyamfi to publicly apologise and retract the statements. An attempt by the NDC spokesman to stay execution of the judgment pending appeal was unsuccessful, allowing enforcement of the ruling while the appeal process continued.
However, the Court of Appeal has now reversed that decision, effectively clearing Mr. Gyamfi of the defamation finding and cancelling all financial penalties and related orders imposed by the High Court.
The latest ruling marks a significant legal victory for the NDC communications chief and brings an end to the case at the appellate level, unless Dr. Opoku Prempeh decides to challenge the judgment before the Supreme Court.
