I’m happy my integrity has been vindicated in court – Kweku Baako

The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr says he is happy he chose to defend his integrity in a court of competent jurisdiction when he thought the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Agyapong had defamed him.

In a reaction to the Accra High Court ruling Friday morning [June 26, 2020], which gave him victory over Mr Agyapong in a defamatory case, Mr Baako said: “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.”

“There is no oxygen of life for ugly noises and allegations, borne out allegations in a court of law, there, facts and evidence speak, not ugly noises and malicious allegations…,” Mr Baako said in a statement he sent to Kwame Sefa Kayi, which was read on radio – Peace FM’s Kookrokoo Friday Morning.

Mr Baako further expressed appreciation to the people who stood with him in the “20 or so months of the litigation. May Allah bless them all, long live Ghana.”

Ruling

The Accra High Court hearing the case, today gave Mr. Agyapong 30 days to retract and apologise to Kweku Baako three times on the platforms he used to defame the veteran journalist on.

Instead of the GHS25 million demanded by Kweku Baako, the court awarded GHS100,000 damages instead and a cost of GHS30,000.

Background

Kweku Baako sued Mr. Agyapong in July 2018. In his suit, Kweku Baako complained that Mr. Agyapong made some defamatory comments against him on some radio stations including his own media platforms Net2 TV and Oman FM.

Mr. Baako said the MP accused him of being corrupt, being a hypocrite, dishonest among others.

“Look, I have dared Kweku Baako. He is a very corrupt guy. Where is his paper? Kweku Baako is very corrupt; Kweku Baako is very corrupt in his paper. Kweku Baako is not a clean man that President would tolerate in his office anymore…. I said I have concluded that Kweku Baako is not clean…He’s a hypocrite….. Kweku Baako is not an honest man at all………I said he’s not a saint. Kweku Baako is not a saint. He’s evil…… Very evil man…He’s a very evil man,” Mr. Agyapong said these, according to Kweku Baako’s writ.

Kennedy Agyapong also accused Mr. Baako and investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas of engaging in galamsey using a company called C & G Aleska Company Ltd.

The said allegations were after Anas and his Tiger eye PI team aired the galamsey scandal investigative piece.

The veteran journalist who was unhappy with the allegations made by the Assin Central MP demanded GHS25 million in general damages from Kennedy Agyapong.

Kweku Baako also wanted the court to order Kennedy Agyapong to retract such utterances and render an unqualified apology to him.