National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has dismissed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s demand for an immediate retraction and apology from Al Jazeera Media Network over one of its recent documentaries that named him as having been involved, in a way or another, in some illegal activities.
Sammy Gyamfi, tweeted the first page of the two-page letter written on the green sheet used by the Office of the President with a bold red inscription of the words ‘COMIC RELIEF’ slapped across it.
The caption to his tweet read: #GoldMafiaGovernment, #GalamseyGovernment.”
In subsequent interviews on local radio stations, he averred that there was no basis for the president to make such a demand of the network. He stressed that the gravity of the matter was in the accusations which the president must truthfully respond to.
About the Gold Mafia film
The serialized documentary titled Gold Mafia had one of the main characters, self-confessed gold smuggler and money launderer, Alistair Mathias, mention president Akufo-Addo as his friend and lawyer at a point.
Alistair had also claimed that he had very close relations with the president, plus other African Heads of State, but this is something the presidency has denied.
In the 25th April letter to the Doha-based channel, penned under the name of the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, the contents of the documentary that mention Akufo-Addo are baseless and defamatory.
“I am instructed by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to deman formally that Al Jazeera Media Network (“Al Jazeera”) retract immediately and apologise for airing an inaccurate and unfair documentary that contained spurious and unsubstantiated allegations against the President and the Government of Ghana.
“The documentary in question made baseless claims that the President acted as lawyer for one Mr. Alistair Mathias and implied that the President personally benefitted unlawfully from an alleged $100m state infrastructure contract purportedly awarded to Mr. Mathias.
“In his letter dated 11th April, 2023, responding to AL Jazeera’s letter of 2nd April, 2023, which was received on 6th April, 2023, containing these vague and defamatory allegations, the Legal Counsel to the President, Mr. Kow Abaka Essuman, acting on the instructions of the President, informed Al Jazeera that the President had not been in private practice since the year 2000 and that the President had no recollection of acting as a lawyer, either personally or through his law firm, Messrs. Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Co, for a Mr. Alistair Mathias or his company, Guldrest Resources,” the statement said.
The letter further demanded that Al Jazeera acts within the next seven days after it receives the letter.
“It is impetrative to that you act act forthwith on this request within seven days from the date of receipt of this letter.”
