Courtroom in New Jersey, United States of America (USA), has discovered Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong and one different particular person liable in a defamation case, and awarded $18 million towards him.
Mr Anas Aremeyaw Anas, investigative journalist, and the plaintiff, filed a go well with and joined Mr Agyapong, the previous Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central within the Central Area, and Mr Frederick Asamoah, a social media commentator, as defendants.
These damages arose from statements Mr Agyapong made on tv, following the airing of the BBC documentary on corruption, “Betraying the Sport,” on October 28, 2018.
Mr Anas, sued the previous lawmaker on the Excessive Courtroom, Accra, presided over by Justice Eric Baah, however the case was dismissed by the courtroom, and a price of GH¢50,000 awarded towards Anas.
Anas appealed the choice on the Supreme Courtroom on grounds of bias and lack of jurisdiction of the trial Excessive Courtroom, however misplaced by 3-2 majority choice.
The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkonoo, Justice Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu and Asiedu upheld the ruling of the Excessive Courtroom, while Justices Emmanuel Yoni Kulendi and Yussif Amadu Tanko dissented.
Displeased by the result on the apex courtroom, Anas initiated proceedings within the USA.
Nonetheless, the trial within the USA, concerned eight jurors, returned a unanimous verdict in favour of the plaintiff.
The courtroom mentioned it was of the thought of view that plaintiff had been traumatised by the actions complained of within the criticism and had suffered extreme emotional misery; as a result of he needed to area mortifying questions from former shoppers, brokers, enterprise associates, and relations, who reside all around the world together with the Metropolis of West Orange within the State of New Jersey.
Mr Anas had advised the courtroom that the phrases complained of had been completely false, merchandise of the primary defendant’s creativeness and had been mischievously calculated by Mr Agyapong to disparage the plaintiff.
The plaintiff additional indicated that the phrases created disaffection for him and introduced him into odium within the eyes of right-thinking members of the society in West Orange, Newark, and different components of the State of New Jersey and the worldwide neighborhood.
Mr Anas requested the courtroom to award presumed damages within the quantity of $5 million; particular damages within the quantity of $10 million; precise damages within the quantity of $5 million; and punitive damages within the quantity of $10 million.
The plaintiff additionally requested the courtroom for an order restraining Mr Agyapong from additional making the utterances complained of; and ordering Mr Asamoah to completely delete all defamatory statements he has revealed concerning the Anas on the worldwide internet.
In an announcement issued after the courtroom’s verdict, Mr Anas famous that he felt vindicated by the result of the case.
He mentioned: “I stand earlier than you right now with a profound sense of vindication and willpower. Yesterday, within the Essex County Superior Courtroom in New Jersey, an eight-member jury delivered a unanimous verdict discovering Kennedy Agyapong—former member of the Ghanaian Parliament—chargeable for defamation and awarding damages of $18 million.”
Mr Agyapong acted each maliciously and recklessly in his assaults towards me,” Mr Anas added.
Regrettably, Anas mentioned the situation in Ghana was starkly completely different.
Furthermore, he recounted that in 2018, when he pursued the same lawsuit there, justice eluded him.
He talked about that regardless of Mr Agyapong’s personal admission of missing proof to assist his calumnious claims, “Justice Eric Baah of the Accra Excessive Courtroom not solely denied me justice, however unjustly portrayed me—the civil plaintiff—as a prison.”
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
