Supreme Court overturns GH¢1 million garnishee order against Asamoah Gyan
The Accra High Court’s garnishee procedures, which required seven banks of former Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan to explain why more than GH₵1 million in judgement debt should not be paid from his accounts, were unanimously reversed by the Supreme Court of Ghana.
A five-member Supreme Court panel, led by Justice Amadu Omoro Tanko and consisting of Justices Yoni Kulendi, Senyo Dzamefe, Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, and Yaw Asare Darko, decided that the ex parte proceedings had to be quashed because they were improper.
The decision came after attorneys for Bobby Banson, Ghana’s all-time best scorer, filed an action contesting the validity of the garnishee orders and subsequent directions made by Justice Owusu Dapaa, who was serving as an additional High Court judge on November 19, 2024.
A different High Court, headed over by Justice Nana Brew, had already approved an ex parte move against Gyan and his manager, allowing the garnishee procedures to continue, even though an appeal against the execution of the judgement and the substantive appeal are still pending.
In that motion, Anthony Osarfo, the plaintiff, requested a Garnishee Order Nisi to get GH₵1,061,000, which represented damages and expenses, from Gyan’s bank accounts via his affidavit dated July 9, 2024. The managers of CBG Bank, Ecobank Ghana, Zenith Bank Ghana, GT Bank, Access Bank Ghana, GCB Bank, and Stanbic Bank Ghana were then ordered by the High Court to attend and provide justification for not using the aforementioned sum to settle the judgement debt.
Gyan’s legal team took the case to the Supreme Court because they were dissatisfied with the ruling, and the court has since overturned the garnishee proceedings. The court further decided that until the Court of Appeal rules on a motion for a stay of execution, the judgment’s execution will remain suspended.
According to Gyan’s lawyers, all necessary conditions of appeal have been met, and they are awaiting the hearing of the substantive appeal.
The case is the result of a protracted court fight that began when entertainment journalist Osarfo Anthony and others were found not guilty and released from custody in a case concerning an alleged rape event connected to Gyan. Osarfo Anthony launched a civil lawsuit for unfair prosecution after being acquitted, requesting GH₵1 million in damages.
As an additional High Court judge, Justice Ernest Owusu Dapaa decided in favour of the plaintiff on December 8, 2023, concluding that Anthony had established his case of malicious prosecution. The overall judgement amount against Asamoah Gyan and his management was over GH₵1 million, with the court awarding GH₵900,000 in general damages, GH₵111,000 for 111 months of lost revenue, and GH₵60,000 in legal costs.
Gyan has achieved a major triumph with the recent decision of the Supreme Court.
