Oppong Nkrumah drags Baba Jamal Konneh to court over 'galamsey' claims

A major legal confrontation has erupted in the political and media space after Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, and former Minister of Information, has filed a high-profile defamation suit at the High Court in Accra against Jamal Konney, the Deputy Managing Director (Operations) of the Cocoa Marketing Company of Ghana cum Eastern Regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The suit, initiated through a writ issued by his legal team at Nkrumah & Associates, follows statements allegedly made by Baba Jamal Konneh during a live radio broadcast on Okay FM on February 13, 2026.

During the programme, Baba Konney is said to have accused the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP of importing Chinese nationals into Akyemansa in the Eastern Region to engage in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, an activity he claimed led to the destruction of cocoa farms and the livelihoods of farmers.

According to the court filings, the statements were not framed as opinion or political rhetoric but were presented as direct assertions of fact, suggesting personal knowledge and eyewitness credibility.

The allegations, delivered in the Twi language, were broadcast live to a nationwide audience and streamed online, later circulating widely on social media and WhatsApp platforms, significantly amplifying their reach and impact.

Oppong Nkrumah, who has built a long public career spanning journalism, law, corporate advisory work, and frontline politics, insists the claims are entirely false, reckless, and malicious.

He argues that the broadcast deliberately portrayed him as complicit in criminal activity, corrupt, morally unfit for public office, and hostile to the national interest.

The statement of claim emphasises that illegal mining is a serious criminal offence under Ghanaian law, widely condemned for its devastating impact on water bodies, the environment, agriculture, and rural economies—making the allegations particularly damaging.

As MP for a constituency with significant cocoa-growing communities, Oppong Nkrumah maintains that the accusations falsely cast him as a betrayer of his own constituents and a destroyer of their economic lifeline.

The court documents further state that the broadcast caused severe reputational harm, emotional distress, public ridicule, and erosion of trust among constituents, political stakeholders, and institutions with which the MP has long-standing relationships.

In his reliefs before the court, Oppong Nkrumah is seeking a declaration that the statements are defamatory, general damages of GH¢20 million for injury to his reputation, and GH¢10 million in aggravated and exemplary damages to reflect the alleged malice, the defendant’s high public office, and the wide dissemination of the claims.

He is also asking for a full and unconditional apology and retraction on Okay FM, in at least three nationally circulated newspapers, and across all digital platforms where the statements were shared.

Additionally, the suit seeks a perpetual injunction restraining Konney from repeating the allegations and an order compelling the removal of all related defamatory material from radio archives, online publications, websites, and social media platforms.