On April 1, 2025, the two parties were expected to file the details of a final settlement with the Accra High court hearing the case but counsel for Lilwin, Margaret Adjei-Twum was absent.
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Her replacement, Jalila Sumaila, claimed Adjei-Twum was ill which had caused a delay in settling the case and prayed for a postponement.
Ankomah’s lawyers agreed to an adjournment but noted they were losing patience, a position the judge agreed with.
The case was adjourned to May 14, 2025 and Lilwin’s counsel was warned that if a settlement is not reached by then, the trial will commence.
Both parties in the case agreed to a settlement which would include a public retraction and apology and monetary compensation in February, however, Lilwin’s legal team have been dragging their feet in signing, according to Martha Ankomah’s counsel, Nii Appiatu Plange.
“I sent the agreed terms to the defendant’s lawyer for the defendant to sign in the middle of March, but as I speak, I have not heard anything from counsel,” Plange said.
Actress Martha Ankomah sued Lilwin for Gh 5 million after the Kumawood icon lambasted her with vile and unprintable words out of anger over her revelation that she does not work with Kumawood producers anymore due to their movies focusing on subject matters she’s not interested in, such as witchcraft.
What Martha Ankomah said
During an interview with Hitz Fm in 2017, Martha Ankomah said she used to love Kumawood movies but recently fell out of love with them due to the excessive use of ‘witchcraft’ and ‘juju’. She said due to that, she does not feel inclined to appear in those movies. However, she added a caveat that if she found one with good morals and a storyline, she would consider acting in it.
“I love Kumawood movies but what I dislike about their movies is the fetish stuff they inculcate into them,” Martha said. “Apart from that, I love their storylines and they use to have really good movies like ‘Kumasi Yonko’ but of late most of their movies portray witchcraft and that does not motivate me to shoot with them,”
Ankomah said something similar in another interview on Accra FM in 2023 in which she said she rejects a lot of movie roles because of poor storylines or lack of good morals.
“I look at the storyline, the script. If I read the script and there’s no sense in it, I will not join the cast.” Ankomah noted she even rejected a Nollywood role around the same time because the storyline didn’t make sense. She said she bluntly told the producer that and turned down their offer.
Ankomah stoked further controversy by saying she rejects roes that don’t inspire positive change or foster development, comments many took as a dig at Kumawood despite not specifically mentioning that industry.
Lilwin’s Response
In early February 2024, Lilwin was engaged in a beef with Akabenzer (Dr Likee) after one of his regular cast members defected to the skitmaker’s camp. While angrily ranting against the ‘traitorous’ actress, he decided to attack Martha Ankomah as well, having recently watched the old video of her seemingly attacking the current crop of Kumawood movies.
In a long and damaging rant, an angry Lilwin tore into the actress, who is famously known for being demure, low-key and non-confrontational. Lilwin said Ankomah is not a star yet arrogant, ranting, “Do you honestly call yourself a star? Who knows you? What do you have?”
Lilwin went on to assert that it’s a shame that Ankomah is the actress chosen to represent the local textile brand, GTP, alleging she wasn’t chosen due to her popularity or brand values but simply due to the patronage of certain rich Ghanaian men and politicians.
“If not for GTP and senior government officials who signed you on at GTP, who would have signed you? What kind of star are you? Even your own daughter doesn’t know you I don’t even know why GTP bypassed the likes of McBrown, Mercy Asiedu, and co and made Martha Ankomah their brand ambassador,” he said. Lilwin continued to allege that every single success Ankomah achieved in her career was due to male patronage.
“When you become an actress and you become a star, men take care of you, men rent accommodation for you, men buy you houses, men buy cars for you…“’It is men who look after you. You have become a star that is why men take care of your needs, you don’t use your money on anything,” he added.
Roughly a week later, on February 14, 2025, Ankomah filed a defamation suit at the Accra High Court, seeking Ghc 5 million in damages and a retraction and apology. A bullish Lilwin replied by sharing Asiedu Nketia’s infamous words – ‘any idiot can go to court’.
Attempted apology – and rejection
Lilwin’s initial bravado did not last very long. Right before the trial was supposed to commence in July 2024, Lilwin’s attorneys contacted Ankomah’s legal team for an out-of-court settlement, Plange said in court on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The judge granted both parties an extension to work on finalising a deal, and Lilwin issued a preemptive apology to Ankomah during an interview.
“I apologise for what I did. Martha Ankomah is not only a sister, but she is a colleague too. I accept my fault and render an unqualified apology to her,” Lilwin said, speaking on United Showbiz on August 3. “I want to use this medium and call on all of you present in the studio, Fada Dickson, Despite among others, to apologize to her for me.”
Unsurprisingly, Martha Ankomah rejected the apology, claiming it was insincere and did not contain any retraction of his defamatory statements. The case saw a few more postponements as Lilwin dragged his feet, but by December 2024, he signalled his willingness to settle to the trial judge.
Current Status
The case remains in court, as both parties battle to reach a settlement on the most favourable terms they can get. As mentioned earlier, the trial judge warned Lilwin’s legal team that if a signed and sealed settlement agreement is not presented at the next court date in May, the trial will commence.
