Legal practitioner and social activist, Martin Luther Kpebu, has expressed surprise at the High Court’s decision to dismiss the GH¢15 million defamation suit filed by Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin against Sammy Gyamfi.
The General Jurisdiction 1 Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Agyenim Boateng, on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, threw out the suit filed by the Minority Leader against the Chief Executive of Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
The Court held that the writ of summons filed on August 24, 2026, was defective and failed to meet the mandatory requirements for libel actions under Order 57 Rule 2 of the High Court Civil Procedure Rules, C.I. 47.
The suit arose from public exchanges over alleged losses of US$1.7 billion linked to the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Afenyo-Markin had raised concerns over the losses, after which Sammy Gyamfi described him as an “extortionist” on JoyNews on Saturday, August 22, 2026. The Minority Leader subsequently sued Gyamfi and the Multimedia Group Limited for GH¢15 million in damages, a retraction and an apology.
Speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3 on Wednesday, October 15, Kpebu said the Supreme Court has in several decisions cautioned against allowing technicalities to defeat substantive justice.
He said the courts have emphasised substance over form, making the High Court’s decision to strike out the case on procedural grounds surprising.
“There are many cases where the Supreme Court says we don’t use this kind of technical justice to defeat substantive justice,” he stated, stressing the apex court’s insistence not to prioritise “form over substance.”
Kpebu further indicated that the courts are advised to choose “substance over form,” explaining why “it’s a bit surprising that the court cancelled the case.”
He, however, stated that the differences in personalities on the bench sometimes influence their judgement regarding the form of a matter.
“But judges are different just as lawyers are different. Some are quite strict, others are liberal and it influences the way they see the rules,” he said.
High Court throws out Afenyo-Markin’s GH¢15m defamation suit against Sammy Gyamfi
