Businessman Ibrahim Mahama has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Bright Simons, the Vice President of IMANI Africa, claiming that a series of publications he deems “false and malicious” have harmed both his personal reputation and that of his company, Engineers and Planners (E&P).
Court documents submitted to the Accra High Court on May 28 indicate that Mahama and E&P assert that Simons made defamatory statements in an article titled “Ghana Provides a Lesson in How Not to Nationalise a Gold Mine,” which was published on April 19, 2025, on his personal website, brightsimons.com.
On the same day, Simons disseminated the article through his official X (formerly Twitter) account, @BBSimons, where it rapidly gained attention. By May 8, the post had garnered over 93,000 views, 250 reactions, 98 reposts, 26 comments, and 109 bookmarks.
The plaintiffs contend that this level of engagement significantly contributed to the widespread distribution of the alleged defamatory material.
The article purportedly accused E&P of experiencing financial difficulties due to the suspension of operations at the Damang gold mine and implied that the company’s creditors were “up in arms.” It also suggested that Mahama, who is the brother of President John Mahama, was improperly benefiting from political connections, and that E&P was receiving undue advantages in government mining policies.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs categorically deny these allegations, labeling them as “entirely false and wholly without factual basis.”
They argue that the article depicts E&P as financially unstable and damages the company’s credibility with both current and prospective business partners.
The plaintiffs are seeking the following remedies:
- 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 period of three months;
- A perpetual injunction preventing Simons from making any further defamatory statements;
- General damages totaling GHS10 million;
- Legal costs and any additional relief deemed appropriate.
