Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh has sued the Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Mensah Thompson, at an Accra High Court for defamation.

The Minister is seeking GHC10 million as damages.

Mr Thompson is alleged to have accused the Minister of extorting monies from illegal miners.

The writ of summons said on April 13, 2020, by a press statement, Mr Thompson said Mr Asomah-Cheremeh is busily engaging in the extortion of small-scale miners in the Western Region amidst the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Thompson also alleged that the Minister together with his aide visited several 'galamsey' sites in Tarkwa, Wassa Akropong and Asankragwa demanding bribes ranging from GHS 10,000 to GHS 20,000 from the 'galamsey' operators before allowing them to continue their legal activities.

Mr Asomah-Cheremeh in response said the accusations are “untrue, baseless and have injured his hard-won reputation injuring him and lowering him in the eyes of right-thinking members of the country”.

He has prayed the court to order the defendant to render an unqualified apology to him through the same medium of publication and retract the defamatory matters.