A US court has awarded Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas $18 million (£14 million) in damages after a jury found that former Ghanaian MP Kennedy Agyapong defamed him.
The case stems from comments Agyapong made following Anas’ 2018 BBC investigation, which exposed widespread football corruption in Ghana and beyond. The court heard that Agyapong accused Anas of being a “criminal” and even linked him to the murder of fellow journalist Ahmed Suale.
Anas had previously lost a similar case in Ghana seven years ago, but after Agyapong’s remarks on a 2021 podcast episode, he pursued legal action in New Jersey, where the politician owns property.
Agyapong was in New Jersey at the time of the interview for the Daddy Fred Show podcast. The eight-member jury in Essex County Superior Court unanimously found Agyapong liable for defamation, awarding Anas $18 million, including $8 million in punitive damages. In response, Anas expressed his gratitude for the ruling, declaring, “Justice has prevailed,” and reaffirming his commitment to fighting corruption and upholding press freedom despite the challenges he has faced.
Agyapong’s legal team argued unsuccessfully that the case should not have been filed in the US and that his comments were protected as hyperbole and opinion. Meanwhile, police in Ghana have arrested a suspect in connection with the 2019 murder of Ahmed Suale, who was killed following Anas’ investigation into corruption in African football. The suspect is alleged to have shared images of Suale with a well-known Ghanaian politician before his death.