Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has announced his decision to mount a robust legal defense in response to a defamation lawsuit filed by businessman Ibrahim Mahama, describing the suit as a deliberate attempt to stifle public scrutiny.
In a statement released on Thursday, Simons dismissed the claims made in the suit as baseless and accused Mahama of weaponising the legal system to silence critics.
“There is nothing in the comments complained of that can remotely be described as defamatory,” Simons stated. “We are not responsible for the elaborate twists extracted from those innocuous words by the lawyers of Mr. Ibrahim Mahama.”
Mahama, the CEO of Engineers & Planners (E&P) and brother of President John Mahama, filed the suit at the Accra High Court on May 28, alleging that Simons published false and malicious claims in an April 19 article titled *“Ghana Provides a Lesson in How Not to Nationalise a Gold Mine.”* The article was published on Simons’ website and shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account, where it went viral.
The lawsuit centers around Simons’ claims that E&P was struggling financially after reduced operations at Gold Fields’ Damang mine, and that some of its creditors were “up in arms” over delayed payments. Mahama’s legal team argues that the statements damaged his and E&P’s reputations and business relationships, and they are seeking GHS10 million in damages, a public apology, and an injunction against further statements.
However, Simons pushed back, calling the suit a SLAPP – a ‘strategic lawsuit against public participation’ – intended to discourage legitimate commentary on public interest matters.
“It is designed to scare away analysts and activists from even the most basic scrutiny of Mr. Ibrahim Mahama and his company,” he said. “Such a situation shall place them above every sense of accountability even when they are entangled with public interest or public resources.”
Simons went on to defend the factual basis of his article, saying it relied on public information and sound analysis of industry trends, including loan defaults and production data at the Damang mine. He cited Gold Fields’ own reports to support his assertion that E&P’s operations had been significantly impacted.
He also explained that the phrase “up in arms” was a widely accepted idiom to describe protest or dissatisfaction, and not defamatory in any context.
“If necessary, different creditors shall be subpoenaed to speak to their demand notices and expressions of unhappiness,” Simons said, adding that he was prepared to prove in court that his statements were justified and made in the public interest.
He further noted the importance of allowing scrutiny of companies with close ties to political power, especially those operating in sectors involving state resources or government contracts.
“The fear of lawsuits has created an atmosphere of censorship in Ghana whenever the interests of powerful and wealthy companies are placed in the spotlight. I for one do not intend to honour this tradition,” Simons affirmed. “Accountability, as I like to say, is a marathon.”
