Former NLA Board Chair Sues MFWA for GHS10m Over Defamation in NLA-KGL Report

Former Board Chairman of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Gary Nimako Marfo, has filed a GHS10 million defamation suit against the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) over a report alleging that the NLA handed a GHS3 billion business to KGL Technology Limited “in exchange for peanuts.”

The writ, filed at the High Court in Accra on September 30, 2025, lists MFWA’s Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah; journalist Seth J. Bokpe of The Fourth Estate; William Nlanjerbor Jalulah; Philip Teye Agbove; and MFWA as defendants.

Mr. Nimako is demanding GHS10 million in damages, a public apology, and a retraction of the story, which was published by The Fourth Estate, an investigative journalism project under MFWA. He argues that the publication — which carried his photo — was defamatory, ill-motivated, and intended to tarnish his reputation as well as that of former NLA board members.

The controversial report suggested that the NLA effectively handed over a revenue stream worth GHS3 billion to KGL Technology Limited in return for only GHS170 million annually. The exposé drew widespread public attention and criticism of the Authority’s dealings.

In his claim, Mr. Nimako is seeking court declarations that the report was defamatory, published without just cause, and calculated to incite public disaffection. He also wants legal costs, including solicitor’s fees, awarded in his favour. He is represented in the case by Marfo & Associates.

Meanwhile, former NLA Director-General, Samuel Awuku, has also dismissed the findings of The Fourth Estate report, describing it as “lopsided” and unbalanced. In a statement issued on September 25, he defended the Authority’s financial decisions, insisting that sponsorships of events such as the EMY Awards and the Ghana CEO Summit represented only 5% of the NLA Good Causes Foundation’s budget and were strategic marketing moves.

Awuku stressed that the bulk of the Foundation’s resources supported impactful social interventions, rejecting allegations of diversion of funds meant for the underprivileged.