GH¢5M defamation case: Supreme Court slaps GHC10k cost on Lil Win, strikes out his application

Kumawood actor Kwadwo Nkansah, known widely as Lil Win, has been ordered to pay GH¢10,000 after the Supreme Court struck out his application aimed at stopping proceedings in Martha Ankomah’s defamation suit against him.

The fine was imposed after the actor and his lawyers failed to appear when the matter was called on Tuesday, 31 March 2026, despite the case being scheduled for a hearing at the apex court.

A five-member panel led by Justice Amadu Tanko treated the absence as a sign of disrespect to the court. After hearing submissions from lawyers for Martha Ankomah, the justices struck out the application and awarded costs against Lil Win. Court reporting from the hearing indicated that the matter was removed without permission to revive the same application later.

The case before the Supreme Court arose from Lil Win’s attempt to suspend the High Court proceedings while he pursued an appeal. He had filed the stay application on 4 March 2026 after suffering similar setbacks at both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Before the hearing date arrived, however, his lawyers filed a notice seeking to withdraw the application, stating that they wanted liberty to reapply. When the matter was called, neither the actor nor his legal team was present to move or explain that position.

The underlying dispute began in February 2024, when actress Martha Ankomah sued Lil Win for defamation. In that action, she is seeking GH¢5 million in general and aggravated damages, along with an apology, a retraction and other reliefs.

Her claim centres on public remarks she says damaged both her personal reputation and the GTP brand. According to the writ, she accuses Lil Win of falsely portraying her as someone who looked down on Kumawood actors and refused to work with them because she considered their storylines inferior.

As the suit progressed in the High Court, Lil Win’s lawyers attempted to challenge the choice of Accra as the venue for the case, arguing that the matter ought to be handled in Kumasi instead. That jurisdictional challenge failed, and subsequent efforts to secure a stay pending appeal were also dismissed at lower levels before the matter was taken to the Supreme Court.

The dispute has also had a parallel settlement track.

At the parties’ last appearance in the High Court, lawyers for Lil Win indicated that he remained open to resolving the matter out of court. That renewed expression of interest came after an earlier settlement effort collapsed, even though terms had reportedly been agreed in principle. The process broke down when Lil Win did not sign the proposed settlement document, forcing the case back onto its litigation path.

The High Court, presided over by Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul Basit, has adjourned the defamation suit to 14 April 2026 for the parties either to confirm a settlement or continue with the case.