Anas Aremeyaw Anas to file an appeal in the landmark ruling in the defamatory lawsuit against Kennedy Agyapong
Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has revealed he will file an appeal against a ruling by an Accra High Court in his defamatory lawsuit case against Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong.
In a video shared on Facebook, the journalist expressed appreciation to all who had reached out to show support and solidarity since the landmark ruling by Eric Baah JA.
He also hinted at filing an appeal against the ruling.
“My team of lawyers and I have carefully studied the judgement delivered by the court and we are unanimous that the judge made an overreach and descended into the arena and made criminal pronouncements about me as if I was standing a criminal trial. He also justified the MP accusing me of the murder of the late JB Danquah, murder of 20 Chinese nationals and a host of other crimes. We are filing an appeal because there was no evidence provided” the investigative journalist said.
Watch the full video below.
On Wednesday, March 26, 2023, an Accra high court dismissed a GHC25 million defamatory suit by the investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas against the MP for Assin Central in the Central Region, Kennedy Agyapong.
Anas took the MP to court in 2018 for allegedly defaming him.
In his application, Anas prayed to the court to award aggravated damages of GHC25 million to compensate for allegedly defamatory material published against him by Agyapong.
In court
In a lengthy ruling, Justice Eric Baah held that the plaintiff, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, had failed to prove that Kennedy Agyapong defamed him by airing the documentary Who Watches the Watchman?.
The judge said that, on the contrary, the documentary exposed shady deals that Anas and his associates were involved in.
The court further held that Agyapong had provided sufficient evidence to prove that the plaintiff used the findings of his work to solicit money from individuals implicated in the evidence gathered by him.
The court said the evidence also proved that those people who were able to pay the sums of money demanded by Anas and his associates were exempted from videos that were shown to the public.
The court concluded that what Anas is engaged in is not investigative journalism, but rather investigative terrorism, and that Agyapong was justified to call him “a blackmailer, corrupt, an extortionist, and evil”.
“I find the claims by the plaintiff meritless and they are hereby dismissed,” Justice Baah ruled.
Additional report from Asaase Radio
