The Court of Appeal has ordered a retrial in the high profile defamation case involving Ghanaian politician and businessman Kennedy Ohene Agyapong and journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr, after upholding an appeal against an earlier High Court decision.
The appellate court’s ruling effectively nullifies the previous High Court judgment in favour of Mr Baako, and mandates a fresh hearing of the matter. In addition, the Court of Appeal directed that Mr Baako refund all monies paid under the earlier judgment within 30 days.
The dispute dates back to 2018 when Mr Baako sued Mr Agyapong for defamation, alleging that the politician made defamatory statements against him in the public domain. The High Court had previously ruled in favour of Mr Baako, but that judgement has now been set aside by the appellate court.
Speaking after the decision, legal counsel for Mr Agyapong welcomed the court’s ruling, describing it as consistent with established legal principles and necessary for correcting errors in the earlier judgment. “The court is the court and the law is the law,” the counsel said, adding that the appellate court followed directives from the Supreme Court in its deliberations.
According to defence arguments, the Court of Appeal found that the High Court judgment suffered from a statutory breach that was fundamental to the case’s validity, a factor that contributed to the appellate court’s decision to order a retrial.
As part of ongoing preparation for the retrial, lawyers for both parties are expected to review legal submissions and procedural compliance ahead of the new hearing. The full written judgment from the Court of Appeal, which is anticipated to detail the nature of the identified statutory issues, has not yet been published.
Source: My News Ghana
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