The Vice President of IMANI Africa Bright Simons has stated he will defend his statement made in his publication against Ibrahim Mahama, a Ghanaian business mogul and Renowned philanthropist vigorously in court.
According to Bright Simons, he has seen that the brother of Ghana’s President has filed a suit against him for defamation because he is unhappy.
Bright Simons on X stated, “I said his company has been “hit” financially as a result of a mining company’s decision to suspend some operations, which his company had hitherto been paid to support; and
- Also that some of his creditors have been “up in arms” due to, among other factors, the financial pressures emanating from the Damang situation”.
He further added, “After studying the suit carefully, my lawyers and I have resolved to defend the above statements vigorously in court.
We bear no malice towards Mr. Ibrahim Mahama. But we shall not be deterred from continuing to scrutinise any dealings of his that we believe have public policy implications”.
The plaintiff accused Bright Simons of making “false and malicious” publications that have damaged both his reputation and that of his company, Engineers and Planners (E&P).
The court document cited claims made by Bright Simons in an article titled “Ghana Provides a Lesson in How Not to Nationalise a Gold Mine” published on April 19, 2025.
Bright Simon’s article reportedly accused E&P of financial distress due to halted operations at the Damang gold mine suggesting that the company’s creditors were “up in arms.”
It also implied that Ibrahim Mahama, the brother of President John Mahama, was benefiting improperly from political connections and that E&P was being unduly favoured in government mining policies.
The plaintiffs however rejected these claims labeling them as “entirely false and wholly without factual basis.”
Ibrahim Mahama and his company made the following claims in their suit:
- A declaration that the statements made by the Defendant, which have been particularised in paragraphs 14(a) and (b) of the statement of claim, are defamatory of the Plaintiffs;
- An order directed at the Defendant to publish, on the same platforms that he published the defamatory words, as well as a full page of the Daily Graphic newspaper, on six consecutive occasions over a 3-month period, an unqualified retraction and an apology to the Plaintiffs;
- An order for a perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant, his agents, assigns, and servants from further publishing any defamatory words against the Plaintiffs;
- General damages of Ten Million Ghana Cedis (GH¢10,000,000.00) for defamation;
- Costs, including legal fees; and
- Any other order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit.
See the post below:
1. This afternoon, I saw in the media that the brother of Ghana’s President has filed a suit against me for defamation. I also got a copy of the writ online.
2. He is unhappy because:
A. I said his company has been “hit” financially as a result of a mining company’s decision to… pic.twitter.com/DxvOH7jEhB
— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) May 29, 2025
