1. Our judicial immaturity has been exposed on an international scale. This time, it isn’t that our judges were caught on tape taking bribes or that they willingly gave judgment in exchange for a male goat.
2. This is different: it is an expose without a mask and a camera.
3. In 2018, Anas Aremeyaw Anas instituted an action at the High Court against Kennedy Agyapong praying for damages worth 25 million cedis for libelous ( defamation on paper or tape) comment made against him by Ken.
4. The case was heard by one Justice Baah, currently at the Court of Appeal of Ghana.
5. In 2023, Justice Baah gave a judgment ruling that Anas was not entitled to his claims and reliefs and accordingly, described him as a blackmailer, extortionist, investigative terrorist, and more.
6. This decision came as a shock. But nothing was more shocking than to find a judge, an objective adjudicator, turn a judicial function into a personal exercise of using unfair, unproven, and defamatory language against a party in a case.
7. When Anas complained of defamation against Ken, the judge decided to rather defame Anas. More than enough, the decision of the court occasioned substantial damage to Anas’s reputation.
8. But for the fact that Article 127(3) of the 1992 Constitution makes it impossible for a judge to be held liable for his defamatory comments while performing his judicial functions, I am sure Anas would have sued the judge.
9. Anas’s case before the High Court of Ghana was an easy one. Ken had described him as a thief, a murderer, a tax evader. He was unable to provide evidence to show he was a murderer and a tax evader.
10. But the court said that because in a certain video, Anas was seen extorting money, that suffice to show that he is a murderer and a tax evader.
11. Granted that Anas is an extortionist, how does that show that he is a murderer? Ah well!
12. Now there is something more interesting about the High Court case. When the case was filed in 2018, Justice Baah was the High Court judge. But in 2021, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal and a new high court judge was assigned to the case.
13. But Kennedy Agyapong through his lawyers wrote to the Chief Justice, Anin Yeboah to maintain Justice Baah. These letters were never known to Anas or his lawyers.
14. The Chief Justice then directed that Justice Baah of the court appeal hear the case to its finality. Why was the chief justice petitioned without notice to the other party ( Anas) in the case?
15. Why did the Chief Justice act on the petition without notice to the other party( Anas) in the case? Ah well!
16. Dissatisfied with the judgment, Anas filed a certiorari at the Supreme Court of Ghana.
17. At the Supreme Court, 5 judges heard the case. In their judgement 3 judges dismissed Anas’s case that the judge acted with actuated bias against him. 1 other judge, Amadu Tanko JSC concurred with the 3 but for different reasons.
18. 1 judge, Kulendi JSC, ordered for the High Court decision to be quashed. He found that the judge utilized the opportunity to abuse and defame Anas. To him, the judge had shown contempt, disdain, and hatred for Anas and ought to not have decided the case. A complete abuse of judicial power.
19. Ah well!
20. Since Ghana didn’t work for Anas, he went to the US.
21. His action filed in the US court in New Jersey was premised on similar allegations made by Kennedy Agyapong on an online program in the US.
22. The case was heard and decided by an 8-member jury. [not one judge].
23. Anas prayed for damages of up to 30 million dollars on the grounds of 5 counts of defamation against Kennedy Agyapong.
24. The Court upheld all counts but awarded damages of 18 million dollars.
25. We must remember that the standard of proof of defamation in the US is the highest in the entire world. In the US, before one can establish defamation against a person acting in the public interest, one must show that the person acted with malice.
26. In Ghana, you are required to only show that the person made defamatory comments.
27. But yes, a higher standard of proof was satisfied by Anas in the US yet, in Ghana, a lower standard of proof was deemed not satisfied. Ah well!
28. Before you drink tea or Kooko this morning, know that you are in Ghana. And when you have a case, it will be decided by Ghana courts and judges.
The end!
Source – Donkor Selikem Timothy (Timseli) (This message was edited)