The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Dr. Hugh C.A. Brown, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Impact Media Limited, operators of New 88.3 FM, and one of its presenters, Nana Yaw Asante a.k.a. Dakyehene, demanding damages totalling GH¢20 million, a public apology, and an injunction to restrain further publication of what he describes as malicious falsehoods.
The writ, filed at the High Court in Accra on July 25, 2025, stems from a broadcast aired on the station’s morning show on July 16, 2025.
During the programme, the second defendant allegedly accused Dr. Brown of issuing permits to four companies to engage in illegal mining in forest reserves, backdating official letters to conceal the act, and attempting to shift blame onto the previous administration.
Dr. Brown contended that the allegations have no basis in fact. In his statement of claim, he described the broadcast as a calculated attempt to portray him as “a dishonest person with the mind of a thief” who is actively undermining the fight against illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey.
The statement of claim detailed how the programme accused him of backdating permits to allow illegal mining in forest reserves already reclaimed by the state.
The presenter, Dakyehene, is alleged to have insisted on the availability of documents supporting the claim and further threatened to stage a personal protest against President John Dramani Mahama should Dr. Brown remain in office.
Dr. Brown vehemently denied issuing any permits for mining and argued that the letters in question were internal approvals addressed to the Executive Director of the Forest Services Division, not entry permits.
He further explained that the mention of the year 2024 in the documents was a typographical error, which had already been corrected in an official rejoinder issued by the Forestry Commission on July 14, 2025.
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