Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu, says the GH¢15 million defamation lawsuit filed by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin against Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, takes attention away from the country’s development agenda.
He has urged the two parties to consider mediation and resolve the dispute outside court, arguing that the time spent on the litigation could be better used to scrutinize government actions and promote national development.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Mr. Kpebu said that although Mr. Afenyo-Markin could correct the procedural errors that led to the dismissal of his suit and return to court, an amicable settlement would be preferable.
“Because I think that lawsuit takes a lot away from a quest for development. We should be using the time to interrogate and scrutinize government actions rather than the lawsuit,” he said.
The High Court’s General Jurisdiction 1 dismissed Mr. Afenyo-Markin’s GH¢15 million defamation suit against Mr. Gyamfi on Wednesday, October 14, ruling that the writ was incurably defective and incompetent and could not properly invoke the court’s jurisdiction.
Commenting on how fundamental the error was, particularly given the stature of the lawyer and politician involved, Mr. Kpebu said procedural mistakes were not uncommon in legal practice.
“I would say that kind of mistake is not strange. It happens from time to time. And if we had time, I would go into details.
I'll tell you mistakes that we all make from time to time as lawyers,” Kpebu stated.
