Defamation suit: Ken Agyapong appeals Kweku Baako’s 2020 win citing Frimpong-Boateng report

Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong has filed an appeal in a defamation suit he lost against Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako.

The case which was instituted in 2018 ended in 2020 with the court ruling in favour of Baako and awarding him damages to the tune of 130,000 cedis; which amount he said he was not interested in.

Baako held that being able to clear his name from accusations that he was involved in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) as claimed by Agyapong was all he needed even though Agyapong had publicly stated that he was not going to pay the damages awarded.

Three years down the line, Agyapong has appealed the judgment in court papers dated 5th May 2023.

The main basis for the appeal being the now famous Frimpong-Boateng galamsey report of 2021 which was only recently leaked into the media.

The appeal read in part: “Among the primary issue in contention on this appeal is a commentary made by the applicant [Kennedy Agyapong] about the respondent’s[Kwaku Baako] involvement in galamsey activities by intervening on behalf of a company called C&G Aleska.

“The said intervention had to do with the defendant [Kennedy Agyapong] calling on the Minister for Environment Science, Technology and Innovation who was the Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) to allow C&G Aleska to go back on site and continue its illegal mining activities although its license had been revoked confirming respondent’s [Kwaku Baako] influence peddling which also amounts to his involvement in galamsey.

“The said intervention resulted in the applicant’s [Kennedy Agyapong] commentary that the respondent [Kwaku Baako] was also involved in galamsey. That during the trial the applicant’s [Kennedy Agyapong] effort to get the Chairman of the IMCIM [Frimpong-Boateng] to testify and corroborate the same proved futile, therefore, resulted in the applicant [Kennedy Agyapong] unable to prove his defense of true, fair comment and thus justified.

“On the 18th day of April 2023, the applicant [Kennedy Agyapong] chanced upon a confidential document from the Office of the President of Ghana with an attached report prepared by Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng which intrinsically addressed the applicant’s [Kennedy Agyapong]concerns and the role played by the respondent [Kwaku Baako] on behalf of C&G Aleska which was involved in galamsey activities.”