“Ken Agyapong emerges victorious as court dismisses Anas’ GHC25 million defamation claim”

Kennedy Agyapong wins GHC25 million defamation case against Anas Aremeyaw Anas in Accra High Court

On Wednesday, March 15, 2023, an Accra High Court judge, Justice Eric Baah, dismissed a GHC25 million defamation lawsuit filed by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas against MP Kennedy Agyapong for allegedly defaming him in 2018. Justice Baah ruled that Anas failed to prove that Agyapong had defamed him by airing the documentary “Who watches the watchman.” Instead, the documentary exposed corrupt practices that Anas and his associates were involved in, and Agyapong provided sufficient evidence to support his claims. The court found that Anas was engaged in “investigative terrorism” rather than investigative journalism, and that Agyapong was justified in calling Anas “a blackmailer, corrupt, an extortionist, and evil.” The judge dismissed Anas’s claims as meritless and awarded the case to Agyapong

Anas Aremeyaw Anas files defamation suit against Kennedy Agyapong for calling him a blackmailer, corrupt, an extortionist, and evil

In May 2018, Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central, made defamatory remarks about investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas during a live program on Adom TV and on his private radio station, Oman FM. Agyapong also allegedly released pictures of Anas in an attempt to blow his cover. Anas filed a GHC25 million defamation suit against Agyapong, claiming that his reputation as a lawyer and global investigative journalist had been severely damaged. Anas accused Agyapong of knowingly publishing false and reckless information.

In a ruling delivered on March 15, 2023, the Accra High Court dismissed Anas’s defamation suit, stating that Agyapong had provided evidence to prove that Anas was involved in corrupt practices. The court found that Anas was engaged in “investigative terrorism” rather than investigative journalism, and that Agyapong was justified in calling Anas “a blackmailer, corrupt, an extortionist, and evil.” The court awarded cost of GHc 50,000.00 against Anas, with Agyapong’s lawyers having requested GHC1 million in costs.