Host of Onua Maakye, Blessed Godsbrain Smart
The Host of Onua Maakye, Blessed Godsbrain Smart, popularly known as Captain Smart, has again appeared in the news following a defamation suit filed against him by the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Mindset, Integrity, Loyalty, Leadership and Service (MILLS) Institute, Samuel Koku Anyidoho.
The outspoken presenter is frequently dragged to court on matters of unprofessionalism, a situation that has led him and his media house on numerous legal journeys.
In this GhanaWeb listicle, we take a look at some five (5) legal battles Captain Smart has faced over the last five years.
Koku Anyidoho, 2025
Koku Anyidoho, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, filed a defamation suit against Captain Smart and Media General at the Accra High Court.
The former Director of Communications at the Presidency under the John Evans Atta Mills presidency, stated that the broadcast journalist made several defamatory comments about him on his TV show in February 2025, which were later republished by GhanaWeb.
Anyidoho, in his suit before the High Court, indicated that the statements have had a negative impact on his mental health and tarnished his reputation, both professionally and within religious circles, where he is highly respected.
He is, therefore, demanding an amount of GH¢5 million in damages, including aggravated/exemplary damages for reputational harm, a retraction and apology and the removal of the content.
Kobina Tahir (KT) Hammond, 2024
Former Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, KT Hammond, filed a defamation lawsuit against Captain Smart over alleged derogatory comments made during a broadcast on Onua TV in 2024.
The legal action stemmed from claims made by Captain Smart and his co-host, suggesting that Hammond made tribal remarks questioning how an individual from a tribal descent could win the Adansi Asokwa parliamentary seat in the Ashanti Region.
The controversy erupted following the December 7, 2024, presidential and parliamentary elections, where Hammond, who contested on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), lost his seat to Godwin Animli Dorgbadzi Dorani of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
During a television programme on December 9, 2024, on Onua TV, Captain Smart and his co-host allegedly attributed the statement to Kobina Tahir Hammond.
Hammond refuted the claims, arguing that the comments, both directly and by implication, painted him as a tribalist who had refused to accept the election outcome when a Ghanaian of a different heritage won in the Ashanti Region.
He also asserted that the broadcast and its subsequent wide circulation tarnished his reputation, subjected him to public mockery, and caused him emotional distress.
As part of his lawsuit, the former legislator is seeking multiple legal remedies, including;
Damages: Special, aggravated, and exemplary compensation for defamation due to the broad dissemination of the alleged remarks locally and internationally.
Injunction: A court order preventing Captain Smart and his team from making any further defamatory statements about him.
Public Retraction and Apology: A directive compelling the defendants to retract the statements and issue a public apology with equal prominence across their media platforms, including television, radio, Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter).
Content Removal: A mandate to take down the defamatory content from all online platforms, including third-party publications.
Legal Costs: Full coverage of all expenses incurred in pursuing the lawsuit.
Other Reliefs: Any additional measures the court finds necessary.
COP Christian Tettey Yohuno, 2025
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), COP Christian Tettey Yohuno, during his time in office as the Deputy IGP, filed a defamation suit at the Accra High Court against Captain Smart and Media General Limited.
In the suit filed on Thursday, January 2, 2025, the IGP stated that Captain Smart, during a radio and TV programme on December 27, 2024, alleged that "some elements within the Ghana Armed Forces and some officials of the Ghana Police Service have intended to destabilise Ghana's constitutional order by causing a coup d'état."
According to the court document, Smart had alleged that COP Yohuno's appointment as Deputy IGP was politically motivated and that he participated in meetings aimed at securing the position.
The broadcaster also claimed Yohuno had been visiting the homes of National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials while allegedly holding a membership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and paying them monies as a lobby to be appointed as IGP.
It is based on these statements by Captain Smart that the IGP sought general damages for defamation and an injunction to restrain the defendants from making further defamatory statements.
He also requested a court order directing the defendants to retract the statements and render unqualified apologies through three publications on both Onua TV and three radio announcements on Onua FM.
Francis Asenso-Boakye, 2022
The Former Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, sued Captain Smart and the Media General group for defamation, claiming a sum of GH¢10,000,000 as damages.
According to the suit filed at the High Court in Accra, the plaintiff noted that the first defendant, Captain Smart, made a false statement about him on August 23, 2022, that while he was in office as Deputy Chief of Staff, he placed a call to the GRA to have a certain Adubofour, who had been transferred from the authority pursuant to disciplinary proceedings instituted against him, to be reinstated.
It was the plaintiff’s case that the context within which the presenter made those statements ascribed to him the following inappropriate conducts:
On the bases that he abused his office as Deputy Chief of Staff, interfered and obstructed investigations or disciplinary proceedings against a public servant who the first defendant had accused of stealing.
Asenso-Boakye subscribed to such acts of stealing to the extent that he used his office to reverse lawful decisions of a state agency, used his office to shield a public servant who used his office to engage in acts of stealing and that he is not a law-abiding citizen of Ghana.
Also, he averred that the statement by the presenter was not only false, but malicious and the fact that it was given extensive coverage, damaged his character and reputation.
Asenso Boakye, therefore, sought inter alia;
A declaration that the words complained of were defamatory of his character;
An order of the court directed at the defendants to publish an unqualified retraction and an apology to him with the same prominence the defamatory words received within 7 days after the judgement;
An order of perpetual injunction restraining Captain Smart, his agents, assigns servants, etc. from making and/or publishing any defamatory words against him.
Ken Ofori-Atta, 2023
On June 2, 2023, Ofori-Atta filed a GH¢10 million defamation lawsuit against Captain Smart for defamatory claims he made against him connected with the $3 billion International Monetary Fund extended credit facility secured by Ghana, for a period of three years.
Ken Ofori-Atta, on June 5, 2023, sued Media General Ghana Ltd, operators of Onua TV and Onua FM, in addition to Captain Smart.
In his amended statement of case, Ofori-Atta stated that Media General Ghana Ltd (the second defendant), by its actions and inactions, looked on, permitted and/or encouraged the first defendant, Captain Smart, by the use of its platform and resources, to defame him (Ken Ofori-Atta), the plaintiff, unjustifiably.
In the June 2 writ, filed at the High Court in Accra by Bright Okyere Adjekum, the lawyer for Ken Ofori-Atta, he stated that on May 22, 2023, in the course of the said Onua Maakye with Captain Smart, broadcast and published on Onua TV and Onua FM and via the internet, the following words that defamed the plaintiff: “Are you aware that Ken Ofori-Atta has taken his 10% of the IMF money? Every loan we take, he takes 10%.
“The above statements are not only palpably false [and] absolutely fabricated but were also deliberately calculated to disparage the plaintiff. Those words are malicious and were clearly further intended to convey and would be understood to convey meanings that diminish the plaintiff in the minds of right-thinking members of society."
They added that, “The said words, set out in their natural and ordinary meaning, meant and were understood to mean, inter alia, that the plaintiff is corrupt, that the plaintiff has diverted public funds, and that the plaintiff has abused his office.
“By reason of the foregoing, plaintiff has been greatly injured in his credit, character and reputation, and has been brought into public scandal, ridicule, distress and embarrassment and has thereby suffered damage."
VA/AE
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