The livewire striker's effort in the 31st minute was the only difference between the two sides in a close contest at Griffin Park.
The result is another shot in the arm for Scott Fitzgerald's men, who built on their previous week's victory over Blackpool.
Meanwhile, defeat for Brighton - who finished the match with ten men after Kerry Mayo was sent off - has started the alarm bells ringing for concerned boss Dean Wilkins.
Brentford started brightest and Joe Keith should have put them in front in the fifth minute following a mix-up in the Brighton defence. Nick Ward's back pass was hapless and almost allowed Kuffour to sneak in ahead of Michels Kuipers.
The goalkeeper then made a hash of the clearance and passed straight to Keith, but the midfielder somehow missed the open goalmouth and planted his shot wide.
That miss set the tone for much of the first half as the game descended into a mismatch of poor passes and half-hearted attempts at goal.
That all changed, albeit for the briefest second, when Kuffour sparkled into life to put Brentford in front.
Unsurprisingly it was a poor pass, this time by Alexis Bertin, which broke the deadlock. The midfielder was caught by Neil Shipperley whose pass for Kuffour was perfect and allowed the forward time to slot under the on-rushing Kuipers.
Any hopes that Brighton had of an immediate response were dashed as once again Brentford formed an impenetrable line of defence.
The Seagulls' plight was then dealt a further blow when they had Mayo sent off on the stroke of half-time. The left-back was shown a second yellow card by referee Keith Hill for two poor challenges.
After the restart, Brentford looked to make their extra man advantage count with Garry Richards going close with a header. Keith then forced Kuipers to make a save when he tried his luck from distance.
But the break also brought a revival for ten-man Brighton who finally came to life. Bas Savage was introduced in place of the ineffective Ward and his presence added a new dimension to the Brighton team.
Indeed, it was Savage who had one of the Seagulls' better chances but saw his effort saved after good work from Dean Cox.
Both sides had chances at the death, but Brentford clung on to snatch the three points which could prove decisive in the relegation shake-up.