Strong petitions are sent to Akufo-Addo, the Chief Justice, and others on the ruling against Anas in the case of Kennedy Agyapong by a powerful international organization called CENOZO.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has been urged to defend people’ fundamental rights and take decisive action to put a stop to acts of impunity against journalists in Ghana by the Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa (CENOZO).
A defamation action against Kennedy Agyapong, a Member of Parliament from Assin Central, was handled by Justice Eric Baah of the High Court of Accra. The group also made an application to Chief Justice of Ghana Kwasi Anin-Yeboah to look into this matter.
These requests were made in a statement on Monday by the sub-regional network of investigative journalists known as CENOZO.
According to reports, well-known undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas brought Mr. Agyapong before Justice Baah in suit number. GT/892/2018 for claimed defamation.
The judge harshly criticized the renowned journalist, branding him a terrorist and blackmailer, and dismissed the case against Mr. Anas with costs.
However, CENOZO criticized the decision, stating that Justice Baah had not only singled out Mr. Anas but also attacked the origins, tenets, and methods of investigative journalism in Ghana and throughout Africa.
Despite acknowledging the courts’ constitutionally mandated authority to carry out their tasks, CENOZO claimed that Judge Baah’s decision-making process was unfair, mostly self-serving, and tinged with what appeared to be retaliation.
“Anas Aremeyaw Anas is a member of our organisation who is well-known for conducting daring investigations that have exposed the underbelly of corruption and malfeasance in Ghana and globally, thereby attracting legions of enemies and detractors, some of whom have been caught with their hands in the public pie and thoroughly disgraced, with many sentenced to prison.
“We are aware that Hon. Agyapong, a sitting parliamentarian representing Assin Central and a Ghanaian government appointee, is among those who have criticised Mr. Anas and his Tiger Eye team for the multiple exposés they have conducted over the years.
“It is worth noting that Hon. Agyapong has a history of human rights violations and has incited violence against journalists and activists, including Luv FM journalist Erastus Donkor during a live interview on Net 2 TV and Ahmed Hussein-Suale, Anas’ team member who helped make a documentary about Ghanaian football corruption,” the statement by CENOZO read.
The group said that Mr. Hussein-Suale, one of Mr. Anas’ team members, was murdered a few weeks after the parliamentarian called on the public to attack him.
Continuing, CENOZO wrote, “We find it very strange that Justice Eric Baah chose to attack Mr. Anas’ character and reputation rather than focusing on the merits or demerits of the defamation case that was brought before the court, branding him a “corrupt blackmailer, terrorist, extortionist, and evil,” without a shred of evidence.
“We believe it is extremely unprofessional and ungodly for the judge to have descended so low and made judicial pronouncements bordering on criminality on a journalist who has never been charged with any of the offences in question.
“We also don’t understand why Justice Baah would find a journalist’s work and person so repulsive that he would address him in such abusive and slanderous terms.”
The group called the judge’s attention to a decision by the US Supreme Court in the case of The New York Times v. Sullivan, which stated that as long as journalists did not act with “actual malice,” they cannot be held accountable even when they publish false assertions.
Justice Baah was pointed to another significant decision of the US Supreme Court in the case of New York Times v. United States, which held that the government cannot forbid the publication of classified information unless it can prove that doing so would result in a clear and present danger to national security.
In addition to the aforementioned, CENOZO noted that Ghana has gained recognition around the world for putting into practice the UN’s Plan of Action on Journalist Safety and Impunity, which allowed it to host the 2018 World Press Freedom Day Celebration.
It also affirmed that a Committee to implement the system for journalist safety was established in the nation in 2019, but it pointed out that those accomplishments might be undone by the conduct of state actors like Judge Baah and MP Agyapong.
“We know that Anas Aaremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye team have not broken any known laws in Ghana or elsewhere in the course of their investigative reporting and should be protected from any form of attack by state and non-state actors.
“We, therefore, invite the Ghana Journalists Association, as well as journalism associations throughout Africa and the world, to condemn Justice Eric Baah’s actions, which have severely harmed Ghana’s free press record and demonstrated the difficult terrain in which African journalists, particularly investigative journalists, operate.
“We also request the Chief Justice of Ghana and the Ghana Legal Council (GLC) which have consistently demonstrated a high level of integrity, transparency, and fairness in the dispensation of justice to investigate the conduct of Justice Baah, and if found guilty, sanction him to serve as a deterrent against future acts of rascality on the part of judges; and
“More importantly, we urge His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Ghana, to not only uphold citizens’ fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution but also to take serious steps to end acts of impunity against journalists in his country.
“We are pleased that Mr. Anas is appealing Justice Eric Baar’s decision and hope that the Court of Appeal will consider the evidence and facts of the case on their merits,” CENOZO stated.
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