- Safiu Kehinde
An Essex County jury in the United States has awarded popular Ghanaian investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, $18 million in his defamation suit filed against former member of the Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong.
Anas disclosed this in a post shared on his official X on Wednesday.
According to the post, the US eight-man jury all ruled in his favour as they ordered Agyapong to pay $18 million in damages to the journalist.
“Justice served! Today, a U.S. jury ruled unanimously in my favor, awarding $18M in my defamation case against Kennedy Agyapong. The court found he acted with malice, spreading baseless lies. Truth prevails!” Anas wrote.
He described the historic ruling as more than legal victory but a profound affirmation that truth matters.
While recounting his journalistic activities, Anas disclosed how Agyapong had made several malicious claims about him in an effort to silence him.
“Over the years, my team and I have exposed corruption at the highest level- from the corridors of politics to the hall of justice. But I’m fighting the corruption, one becomes a target.
“Mr. Agyapong, in a desperate bid to silence me, labelled me a land grabber, an extortionist, a murderer, a tax evader, and a blackmailer who ought to be hanged.
“These were not just lies, they were calculated attempts to destroy my credibility and put my life in danger.
“While Ghana’s legal system failed to deliver justice in 2018, the US court upheld the truth.
“This case was not easy. Proving defamation case in the United States requires establishing actual malice by a clear and convincing evidence standard. One of the highest legal threshold in the world.
“That the jury ruled eight zero in my favour on every count is a testament to the fact Mr. Agyapong acted with reckless disregard.” Anas said.
He, however, disclosed how a Ghanaian court had previously ruled against him in 2018.
“Regrettably, Ghana’s justice system has not always lived up to the principles of fairness and impartiality.
“When I sued Mr Agyapong in 2018, despite his inability to legally substantiate his allegations, the court ruled against me with Justice Baah scandalously branding me a terrorist instead of adjudicating the facts before him.
“This miscarriage of justice was later condemned by Supreme Court’s Justice Kulendi who rightly described it as a violent abuse of judicial authority.” He said.