Lawyers for the President National Concerned Small Scale Miners Association of Ghana, Michael Kwadwo Peprah, have vowed to drag broadcaster, Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah, to court if he doesn’t retract and apologise for defaming their client.
While speaking on his program, ‘For the Record,’ on Wednesday, April, 24, 2025, Okatakyie alleged that Peprah had destroyed about 40% of Ghana’s forest reserves.
The controversial broadcaster also claimed that Peprah was engaging in illegal mining also known as galamsey, while adding that small-scale miners boss’ mining sites were being protected by me persons linked to COP Boakye.
But in a statement from Peprah’s lawyers, and made available to GhanaWeb, they have asked that Afrifa-Mensah uses the same platform to retract and apologise to Michael Peprah within 14 days.
Failure to do so, the lawyers have threatened to take the matter to the court to seek damages and compensation.
“We write as solicitors on the above subject matter for and on behalf of our client Mr. Michael Kwadwo Peprah, a businessman and President of National Concerned Small Scale Miners Association of Ghana. Our client is a responsible Ghanaian who has built a respectable reputation over the years both in his private and public life. As President of the National Concerned Small Scale Miners Association of Ghana, he has served with dignity members of the association, the mining sector and Ghana in general and thus earned the admiration of all and sundry. Our instructions are that on 23rd April, 2024. You made defamatory s statements against our client on your known social media show dubbed ‘For the Records’ which is aired live through your Facebook page. This is a social program with high public view and coverage both local and international.
“Specifically, you publicly made statements through your show attributing Ur client as a notorious galamseyer well known in the country. You stated that our client is in serious galamsey operations in the Ashanti Region and that he alone has destroyed 40% of the forest in the Region for purposes of his galamsey. Further, you did add that our client is doing galamsey under the guise of one COP Kofi Boakye and that he is even a caretaker of a galamsey site owned by the said COP Kofi Boakye. Videos of the said denigrating statements have since gone viral and are in broad circulation across other social media platforms like WhatsApp, Tiktok, inter alia. We convey to your notice that your said statements are baseless, malicious, false and reckless, and same have brought huge damaging effects to the hard-earned image, dignity, character and reputation of our client,” the statement from the lawyers said.
It further added that; “Be advised that should you fail, refuse or neglect to comply with the aforesaid demand within 14 days upon receipts of this letter, we shall take steps on the instruction of our client to commence legal proceedings against you without further notice.”
Read the full statement below:
AE
