The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court judgment that awarded GH¢500,000 in damages to the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, in a defamation suit brought against him by Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, popularly known as NAPO.
In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel held that the statement complained of by Dr Opoku Prempeh in paragraph 14 of his statement of claim was not defamatory and had not been proven to be false or malicious.
The appellate court consequently ruled that the trial judge erred in finding the statement defamatory and set aside the High Court’s decision, including the award of damages against Gyamfi.
The case is on the back of comments made by Gyamfi during the 2024 election campaign, which Dr Opoku Prempeh, then the New Patriotic Party’s running mate, argued had damaged his reputation.
In 2025, the High Court found in favour of Dr Opoku Prempeh and awarded him GH¢500,000 in general damages after holding that the publication was defamatory.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Gyamfi appealed the decision, arguing that the trial court had misapplied the law in determining that the statement was defamatory.
Delivering its judgment on Thursday , July 17, 2026, the Court of Appeal agreed with the appellant’s arguments, holding that the impugned statement did not meet the legal threshold for defamation and that the respondent had failed to establish that it was false or actuated by malice.
The unanimous ruling effectively overturns the High Court’s judgment and relieves Gyamfi of the GH¢500,000 damages awarded against him.
