My comments about Akufo-Addo banning me from GBC not defamatory – Historian

Historian Dr Yaw Anokye Frimpong has insisted that his claims linking former President Nana Akufo-Addo to his removal from a Ghana Broadcasting Corporation programme are factual and not defamatory.

Dr Frimpong alleges that he was taken off the platform after publicly expressing views that praised Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, during Akufo-Addo’s tenure in office.

He made the comments in an interview on Angel FM, where he reiterated his position on the matter and maintained that the former President had a personal interest in the situation.

“I know he is listening to me. Some time ago when he was in power, I was speaking on GBC and he rang them to have me removed from the show because I was heaping too much praise on Nkrumah and not him or JB Danquah,” he said.

Dr Frimpong further stressed that his account should not be interpreted as defamation, insisting that he was only stating what he believes to be the truth based on his experience.

“My comments about Akufo-Addo banning me from GBC are not defamatory. I am telling the truth about what happened,” he stated.

He explained that following the alleged intervention, he was absent from GBC programming for about a year, which he attributed to the fallout from his historical commentary.

“So for a whole year I wasn’t going to GBC. This is not defamation. I am not attacking anyone’s character. I am stating what happened,” he added.

The historian also broadened his critique to Akufo-Addo’s international engagements, particularly his advocacy on reparations, arguing that such incidents could affect credibility on the global stage.

“If you do things like this, and you go on the international stage and talk about reparations, nobody will mind you,” he said, suggesting that the alleged actions undermined moral authority in global discussions.

He added that Ghana’s former President John Evans Atta Mills had taken a more symbolic approach to historical recognition, referencing the relocation of Nkrumah’s statue to the African Union headquarters.

“We shouldn’t forget former President Mills who sent Nkrumah’s statue to the African Union headquarters,” he noted.

Dr Frimpong, also known in academic and media circles as Lawyer Anokye Frimpong, is widely recognised for his outspoken interpretations of Ghanaian political history, often challenging mainstream narratives and revisiting contested historical events.