Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has filed fresh defamation suits against Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi and National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) Chief Executive Eric Adjei following developments in earlier cases involving the two officials.
The new suits against the two lawyers were filed at the Accra High Court after an earlier action against Mr Gyamfi was set aside on the ground of a defective writ, while a separate case against Mr Adjei was withdrawn at the Achimota Circuit Court before fresh proceedings were initiated.
In a statement issued yesterday, Tuesday, October 20, counsel for Mr Afenyo-Markin, F. Paa Kwesi Abaidoo, said the fresh suit against Mr Gyamfi, numbered GJ/0045/2027, was filed on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
He said the legal team had complied with the High Court’s latest interpretation of the applicable rules, despite disagreeing with the decision to set aside the earlier writ.
“Although we disagree with the High Court’s earlier decision setting aside our client’s previous writ, this new writ has been issued against the Defendants in accordance with the Court’s latest Interpretation of the rules,” the statement said.
The dispute between Mr Afenyo-Markin and Mr Gyamfi stems from comments made during the Government Accountability Series, following the Minority Leader’s criticism of GoldBod and its chief executive over alleged losses of US$1.9 billion under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
The High Court last week set aside Mr Afenyo-Markin’s earlier defamation suit against Mr Gyamfi on the grounds that the writ was defective.
The fresh filing seeks to revive the legal action against the GoldBod chief executive, with the substantive allegations yet to be determined by the court.
Meanwhile, Mr Afenyo-Markin, who is also a lawyer, has initiated a fresh defamation action against Mr Adjei at the Accra High Court, hours after withdrawing an earlier suit against him at the Achimota Circuit Court.
The new case, numbered GJ/0061/2027, concerns alleged defamatory statements Mr Adjei made on Peace FM, according to Mr Abaidoo’s statement.
The earlier proceedings were discontinued following engagements between the parties and an appeal by a High Court judge for them to resolve their differences amicably outside court.
Mr Adjei’s counsel, Gideon Koku Abotsi, said after Tuesday’s proceedings that the withdrawal followed the judge’s intervention, which encouraged an amicable resolution of the dispute.
Counsel for Mr Afenyo-Markin informed the Achimota Circuit Court of the decision to withdraw the action, which was confirmed by Mr Adjei’s lawyer before the presiding judge struck out the case as withdrawn.
However, Mr Abaidoo stressed that the discontinuance of the earlier action did not mean his client was abandoning the substantive claim.
“Following the discontinuance of the suit of Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin against Mr Eric Adjei, Chief Executive of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) at the Achimota Circuit Court this morning, a fresh writ, Suit No. GJ/0061/2027 has been filed at the Accra High Court this afternoon on the substantive matter of defamatory statements made by Mr Adjei on Peace FM,” the statement said.
The dispute with Mr Adjei arose after he repeated allegations of extortion against Mr Afenyo-Markin following the Minority Leader’s criticism of GoldBod and Mr Gyamfi over the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
The fresh filings signal Mr Afenyo-Markin’s intention to pursue his defamation claims against both officials through the High Court.
