Ibrahim Mahama Sues Bright Simons for Defamation, Accuses Him of Malicious Publications
- Ibrahim Mahama has sued Bright Simons, the Vice President of IMANI Africa, for defamation following a recent article
- Mahama has accused Simons of a series of false and malicious publications in the article, which he says damaged his reputation
- The article on Simons' website claimed Mahama's company had financial distress due to halted operations at the Damang gold mine
Ibrahim Mahama, the CEO of Engineers & Planners Limited, has sued Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa, for defamation.
Mahama has accused Simons of a series of false and malicious publications that have damaged his reputation and that of his company.
Source: UGC
Citi News reported that Mahama claims Simons made defamatory claims in an article titled “Ghana Provides a Lesson in How Not to Nationalise a Gold Mine” published on his website.
The article claimed E&P had financial distress due to halted operations at the Damang gold mine.
It also suggested that the company’s creditors were concerned about this purported state of affairs.
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It also insinuated that Mahama, the brother of the president, was benefiting improperly from political connections, and that E&P was being unduly favoured in government mining policies.
Mahama wants a public retraction and apology published on the same digital platforms and a full-page ad in the Daily Graphic for six consecutive editions over three months.
He also wants a perpetual injunction barring Simons from making further defamatory remarks as well as damages worth GH¢10 million.
Commenting on the suit, a lawyer and activist, Timothy Donkor, expressed concern with lawsuits targeting activists.
"Suing individuals who speak on public matters without malicious intent, for their mere omission to state a fact or their erroneous statements, is nothing short of gagging."
"It isn't in the public interest for anyone to sue public commentators for their activist roles that may sometimes be in excess."
Who is Bright Simons?
Simons is the Founder and President of mPedigree, a technology social enterprise reinventing the supply chain on three continents to enhance patient and consumer safety in such vital categories as medicine and agro inputs.
He has been described as a career inventor and innovator, and has worked on vaccine quality detection using novel organo-sensors.
His contribution to the healthcare system has earned him several awards, including the Lifetime Achievement award from the African Innovation Foundation.
In 2013, MIT’s Tech Review named him to the list of the 35 most impressive global technology visionaries under age 35.
Mahama's previous defamation threat
In August 2024, Mahama demanded a retraction from investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni after attributing some of the struggles of the erstwhile Merchant Bank to him.
Mahama said that part of the book had negatively impacted his reputation as an honest businessman.
Source: Instagram
Awuni's book "The President Ghana Never Got" chronicles Ghana's governance under former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Awuni later apologised after the threats of a defamation lawsuit.
"In providing a background to the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) and the circumstances under which its new owners acquired it in 2013, I mentioned the controversy that arose when it emerged that one of the big debtors of the erstwhile Merchant Bank was Mr. Mahama.
"The fact is that the $28 million debt I referenced was owed by his company, Engineers and Planners Company Limited, the legal entity, and not Mr. Mahama personally."
Manasseh Awuni already in court for defamation
YEN.com.gh reported that Awuni recently spent some time in court over his publication of a series of articles titled Darkness in a Lighthouse, for which he is facing defamation charges.
The articles concerned allegations of impropriety against Dag Heward-Mills, the general overseer of Lighthouse Chapel International, and the church's management.
When questioned on his article, Awuni said he merely reported the claims made by the six pastors who resigned from the church.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
