BY Daniel Bampoe
A legal battle has erupted between a former Board Chairman of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Gary Nimako Marfo, and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), following the publication of a hard-hitting investigative report on the Authority’s dealings with KGL Technology Limited.
On September 30, 2025, Nimako Marfo, a lawyer by profession, filed a writ at the High Court in Accra, demanding GHS10 million in damages from MFWA and its investigative arm, The Fourth Estate.
He insists that the report, which alleged that the NLA handed over a GHS3 billion revenue stream to KGL for “peanuts,” has damaged his reputation and cast a slur on the integrity of the former NLA board.
The Defendants Named
The lawsuit lists multiple defendants, including journalist Seth J. Bokpe of The Fourth Estate, MFWA’s Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah, and other staff members—William Nlanjerbor Jalulah and Philip Teye Agbove—alongside the organization itself.
According to the statement of claim, Nimako wants the court to declare the report defamatory, order its retraction, and compel the publication of an apology with the same prominence as the original article.
He is also seeking legal costs, including solicitor’s fees.
The Contested Report
At the heart of the controversy is a publication by The Fourth Estate, which alleged that the NLA had effectively mortgaged a GHS3 billion business opportunity to KGL Technology Limited in return for an annual payment of GHS170 million.
The report, widely shared online, also suggested that resources earmarked for the Authority’s Good Causes Foundation were diverted into “glamorous events and questionable enterprises,” rather than supporting vulnerable groups such as orphans and the underprivileged.
The story sparked public outcry and fueled debates about transparency in the management of state-owned enterprises.
The Plaintiff’s Position
Nimako, however, argues that the report was “ill-motivated and misleading,” stressing that it was calculated to stir public disaffection toward him and other former board members.
He maintains that the NLA’s contractual arrangements with KGL were in the best interest of the Authority and not the giveaway that the report suggested.
His legal team, Marfo & Associates, has already begun the process of serving the writ on the defendants.
Reactions from Former NLA Boss
Former NLA Director-General, Samuel Awuku, has also dismissed the findings of The Fourth Estate, describing the publication as “lopsided.”
In a statement issued on September 25, Awuku defended the Authority’s sponsorship of high-profile events like the EMY Awards and the Ghana CEO Summit, arguing that they accounted for only 5% of the Foundation’s budget and were designed as strategic marketing investments to attract corporate support for the Caritas Lottery Platform.
He insisted that the bulk of the Good Causes Foundation’s resources went into socially impactful projects, contrary to the narrative of diversion and mismanagement.
Wider Backlash
The lawsuit adds to a growing backlash against the investigative report. Just days earlier, the Chamber of Indigenous Business criticized The Fourth Estate’s findings, accusing the journalists of misrepresenting facts about the NLA-KGL partnership.
Meanwhile, the MFWA and The Fourth Estate have not yet issued a formal response to the lawsuit, but the case is expected to reignite debate over press freedom, accountability, and the limits of investigative reporting in Ghana.
