By: Beatrice Oppon
The Accra High Court has dismissed Anas Aremeyaw Anas‘ defamatory suit against Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, describing it as unmeritorious.
The court awarded a 50-thousand Cedis cost against Anas.
In a more than three-hour judgment, the judge, Justice Eric Baah described Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ style of investigation as investigative terrorism and not journalism.
Anas sued Kennedy Agyapong for defamation and demanded 25-million Cedis in damages over some publications he made publicly against him after airing his investigative piece on some rots in Ghana Football.
The court held that the comments Mr. Agyapong made against Anas were justified and do not amount to defamation.
Justice Baah said Mr. Agyapong deserves commendation for exposing the criminality of Anas and not condemnation.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas filed the suit in 2018 following Kennedy Agyapong’s statements on different dates and varied platforms implicating him.
Mr. Agyapong described Anas as a criminal, fraudster, murderer, blackmailer, corrupt, extortionist, tax invader, promoter of illegal mining among others.
Justice Baah said from the video evidence presented before the court, the comments by Mr. Agyapong are true and fair and do not occasion any defamation against Anas.
The court made reference to a video in evidence in which Anas confessed to being bought with 100 thousand dollars in a one point point nine million dollars gold scam case involving some alleged international criminal gang operating between Ghana and Cotonou in Benin.
In the said video Anas and some people including the alleged culprits and a prosecutor were holding a meeting.
Anas’s lawyer argued that the said meeting with the prosecutor was a normal one between parties in a trial.
The court however established that the said meeting was a strategy on how to share a bribe and sabotage the trial.
Justice Baah held that the self-confession by Anas of being bought by the accused persons relieves Mr. Agyapong of the onus of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
This, the court held justifies Mr. Agyapong’s description of Anas as a blackmailer, extortionist and a criminal.
The court said Anas uses blackmail to extort money from his opponents and people he does not like, which is evil.
Touching on another video in which Anas was plotting with some persons to entrap the Ivorian Prime Minister, Justice Baah said drawing a person into a trap to be caught in corruption is unwarranted and dubious.
He described it as an attempt to indirectly grab political power backdoor.
The court also established that the land grabbing issues Mr. Agyapong made against Anas were true and therefore justified.
