Entrepreneur cleared of assaulting woman in Windrush Day confrontation

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Akua Gyamfi attends the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2023 at The Royal Festival Hall
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The founder of the influential British Blacklist has been cleared of assaulting a woman in a confrontation over money outside a Windrush Day celebration.

Akua Gyamfi, 46, was accused of swinging a punch towards Alisha Hall as they left the Film and TV Charity headquarters in Soho, in the midst of a feud over a £35,000 donation.

The two women were introduced through the British Film Institute (BFI), and Ms Hall agreed to bankroll a brunch to celebrate black filmmakers, actors, and creatives during the 2021 London Film Festival.

But Ms Gyamfi alleged during a trial at Westminster magistrates court that the money had gone unpaid, leaving her heavily in debt and facing financial “ruin”.

The dispute culminated in a confrontation at a Windrush Day event on June 22 last year, when Ms Gyamfi attempted to speak to Ms Hall about the money but says she was ignored.

Ms Gyamfi, who founded the British Blacklist – a media platform to promote British Black talent in the arts, pursued Ms Hall and her mother as they left the event, in an incident that was captured on CCTV.

“I went to speak to her, to ask her what’s happening because she owed me £35,000”, the entrepreneur told police.

“I walked around the building, trying to get her to respond.”

Akua Gyamfi was found not guilty following a trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Rick Findler/PA)
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Ms Gyamfi conceded she “was angry” over the missing donation, but adamantly denied swinging a punch with a closed fist at Ms Hall.

“I didn’t physically attack her at all”, she said.

“I never had any intention of hitting her because that’s not in my character.”

Ms Gyamfi was not accused of actually hitting Ms Hall, but was charged with assault for allegedly putting her in fear of violence.

She was found not guilty of common assault by magistrates, following a two-day trial which ended on April 14.

During the trial, the court heard how Ms Hall, a media executive who founded the Liberation Initiatives and has been a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, agreed to sponsor Ms Gyamfi’s October 2021 event called the ‘black | listed Brunch’, at the prestigious NoMad Hotel in central London.

Small Axe star Malachi Kirby was honoured at the event for his role in director Steve McQueen’s film Mangrove, while writer Afua Hirsch and actor Femi Oyeniran were among the guests.

Ms Hall said in her evidence that she had authorised for the money to be paid, and was later advised by her legal team to ignore Ms Gyamfi’s complaints that the funds never arrived.

Emails from Ms Gyamfi chasing the money in December 2021 were shown to magistrates, and she said she eventually went public with her complaints on social media, saying she had been “scammed”.

“I took a long time before going public because I was embarrassed, ashamed, and hurt”, she told police, adding that she was hesitant about “going against another black woman in the public eye”.

“What happened on that day was pent-up frustration”, she added, of the confrontation. “She acted in a defensive way and I shouted at her.”

She told the court she put her own money into the brunch, expecting to be reimbursed, while more than £10,000 has been donated through an online fundraiser to help her recoup the losses.

Gyamfi, from Shepherd’s Bush, denied common assault and was acquitted by the court.

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