Court orders Kennedy Agyapong to pay GH¢100,000 to Kweku Baako Jnr

The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr says the GH¢100,000 damages he will be getting from winning the defamation suit against businessman and Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Agyapong will go to charity.

He made this known when he appeared on Accra based Joy FM’s radio and television news analysis programme – Newsfile – on Saturday [June 27, 2020].

Already, he has said he is happy he chose to defend his integrity in a court of competent jurisdiction when he thought the Member of Parliament had defamed him.

“I am happy I chose to vindicate my integrity in the appropriate forum, a court of law and not on radio, television or social media, which is also an available option in a democratic space,” Mr Baako said.

The Accra High Court on Friday, June 26, 2020, gave Mr Baako victory in a defamatory suit he filed against Mr Agyapong.

Mr Kennedy Agyapong had used words Mr Baako deemed were defamatory against him including accusing him of being corrupt and a hypocrite and dishonest.

In addition to that, Mr Agyapong had dared Baako to pursue a lawsuit against him.

The Accra High Court on Friday gave Mr Kennedy Agyapong 30 days to retract and apologise three times on the platforms he used to defame Kweku Baako.

The damage was set at GH¢100,000 with the cost of GH¢30,000 against him.

Baako sued the Member of Parliament for Assin Central for defamation in October 2018.

Kweku Baako sought reliefs which included general damages in the sum of GH¢25million against Mr Agyapong.

In his statement of claim, Kweku Baako stated that, on July 18, 2018, and on several occasions thereafter, Mr Agyapong published several statements against him on Oman FM, Net 2 TV, Adom FM and Asempa FM which were defamatory.

According to him, on certain occasions when the hosts of the programmes on which he made those defamatory comments against him asked him to retract or provide facts to back the claims he [Agyapong] failed to do so.

According to Kweku Baako, Mr Agyapong’s assertions have affected his image and reputation in the eyes of “right-thinking” members of the society.

He, therefore, asked the court to order Mr Agyapong to retract his comments and render an unqualified apology to him.

He also asked the court to place a perpetual injunction to restrain Mr Agyapong, his agents, assigns and servants from further publishing any defamatory words against him.

Source: Graphic