The Court of Appeal has overturned a GH¢500,000 defamation judgment awarded in favour of Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, popularly known as NAPO, against National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communications Officer Sammy Gyamfi.
The appellate court held that the trial judge erred in finding that comments made by Mr Gyamfi were defamatory and ruled that the earlier decision could not stand.
The case arose from comments made by Sammy Gyamfi concerning Dr. Opoku Prempeh, who was then the Minister of Energy and later became the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general election.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh sued Mr Gyamfi over the remarks, arguing that they damaged his reputation. The High Court subsequently ruled in his favour and awarded him GH¢500,000 in damages.
However, Sammy Gyamfi challenged the decision at the Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial court wrongly interpreted his comments as defamatory.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal agreed with the appellant and found that the trial judge’s conclusion that the statements were defamatory was an error.
The court therefore set aside the High Court’s judgment and overturned the damages awarded to Dr. Opoku Prempeh.
The decision means that Sammy Gyamfi is no longer liable to pay the GH¢500,000 awarded in the earlier ruling.
