Former Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has been ordered to pay damages exceeding GH¢1 million for malicious prosecution by a High Court in Accra.
The ruling came after Gyan was taken to court by journalist Anthony Sarfo, who had faced arrest and prosecution for extortion following a rape allegation.
Anthony Sarfo and his legal team initiated a civil action, claiming malicious prosecution against Asamoah Gyan and his manager, Samuel Anim Addo, after Sarfo was acquitted of charges related to extortion.
The court, in delivering the judgment on Friday, December 8, found in favour of the plaintiff, asserting that he had proven his case of being maliciously prosecuted.
Justice Ernest Owusu Dapaa stated that the report leading to Sarfo’s arrest, made by Gyan’s manager Samuel Anim Addo to the Airport Police, was based on “falsehoods.” The court concluded that the plaintiff was not extorting money from Gyan, and the manager set in motion a malicious prosecution.
In 2019, the Accra Circuit Court had acquitted and discharged Sarfo, along with three others, accused of extorting money from Asamoah Gyan to prevent the publication of a rape and sodomy allegation. The prosecution claimed that the accused planned to publish a story to coerce Gyan into giving them money according to starrfm.com.
Speaking after the judgment, Anthony Sarfo explained, “My case was that Asamoah Gyan and his team made wild allegations against me about eight years ago that I had a plan to extort money from them through a publication involving one Sarah Kwablah. It turned out that it was false.” Sarfo sued for malicious prosecution due to the ‘unnecessary’ legal ordeal he endured.
The court, in response, entered judgment in favor of Anthony Sarfo and his legal team, awarding damages totaling GH¢1,071,000 against Asamoah Gyan and Samuel Anim Addo.
While Gyan was absent during the ruling, his manager and their legal representatives were present, alongside Anthony Sarfo and his legal team.
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