Ibrahim Mahama sues IMANI Africa’s Bright Simons for defamation, demands GH¢10m – Full details | Nsemkeka

Ibrahim Mahama sues IMANI Africa’s Bright Simons for defamation, demands GH¢10m – Full details | Nsemkeka

Ibrahim Mahama, brother of Ghana’s President and Chief Executive Officer of Engineers and Planners (E&P), has filed a defamation lawsuit against Bright Simons, Vice-President in charge of research at the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education.

In a suit dated 28 May and sighted by Pulse News, Mr Mahama accuses Mr Simons of publishing false and defamatory statements in an article titled “Ghana Provides a Lesson in How Not to Nationalise a Gold Mine”, which appeared on Mr Simons’ personal website, brightsimons.com.

The article, published on 19 April 2025, followed the government’s decision to assume operational control of the Damang Mine, a concession held by Abosso Goldfields Limited, a subsidiary of Gold Fields Limited.

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Excerpts of Mr Simons’ article read:

The main mining contractor at Damang is E&P, a powerful operator owned by the brother of Ghana’s President, which is reportedly trying to raise billions of dollars to buy ‘marginal’ mines like Damang. Everybody in the industry is fully aware that E&P has been hit very hard by Gold Fields’ decision to temporarily halt active mining since it gets paid only when it delivers fresh ore.

He further wrote:

In fact, E&P’s own creditors have been up in arms. The concern is that should the President’s brother’s interests rather than commercial considerations start to drive decision-making at Damang, now under government control, the country would need to brace for heavy commercial losses.

According to Mr Ibrahim Mahama, the claims made by Mr Simons are false, malicious, and have caused significant damage to his personal reputation as well as to that of his company, Engineers and Planners (E&P).

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Mr Mahama is therefore seeking the following reliefs:

• A declaration that the statements made by Bright Simons are defamatory;

• A public retraction and apology, to be published on the same digital platforms and as a full-page advertisement in the Daily Graphic for six consecutive editions over a three-month period;

• A perpetual injunction restraining Mr Simons from making any further defamatory statements;

• General damages amounting to GH¢ 10 million;

• Legal costs and any other reliefs the court may deem appropriate.