The Chief Justice has granted the request of the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, to retain the judge hearing the defamation action against him by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
This was after the MP through his lawyers wrote to the CJ on the blind side of the Plaintiff (Anas) or his lawyer, requesting that the previous judge on the case be retained instead of a substantive judge assigned to the Court.
The CJ in a letter dated 27 October, 2021, granted the request of Mr. Agyapong without informing the Plaintiff or his lawyers of the decision to retain the previous judge on the case.
The retained judge, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge on the case pending appointment of a substantive judge for the court, Eric Baah, expressed surprise when the case was called for hearing and lawyers for Plaintiff, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, expressed shock about the developments which all happened on their blind side.
Mr Agyapong has been in the witness box since June 202, answering questions related to the allegations he made against Anas Aremeyaw Anas. The case was adjourned to November 2021 at the last sitting by Eric Baah, JA.
In November 2021 when the case was called, a new judge, Gifty Addo J, had been assigned as the substantive judge to the court where the case against Kennedy Agyapong is being held. As a matter of procedure, the newly assigned judge Gifty Addo J, had to adopt the proceedings in the matter and set new date(s) for the continuation of the trial.
Although the defendant, Mr. Agyapong, knew he had written to the CJ to retain the old judge, he caused his lawyers to write a letter to the court praying for adjournment of the matter to December 2021 without informing the substantive judge that he had written to the CJ to retain the previous judge. The excuse provided by Mr. Agyapong then was that he was out of the jurisdiction.
The substantive judge Gifty Addo J following the request by Mr. Agyapong for adjournment directed parties to procure copies of the proceedings for adoption at the next sitting.
The surprise
On 1st December 2021 when lawyers of Anas appeared in court for business, the Court referred them to another court on grounds that the matter is no longer before the substantive judge and that the CJ had acceded to the request by Mr. Agyapong for the Eric Baah, J.A to continue to sit on the case.
His Lordship Eric Baah was also surprised when lawyers for Anas intimated that they were unaware of the development and sought directions from the court.
This is what His Lordship Eric Baah said in open court “I justice Eric Baah, J.A, sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, began the case before I was replaced by a substantive judge at GJ 2. I left this case, which was then and still is a part-heard. I however received a directive from the Honourable Chief Justice dated 27/10/2021, by which I was directed to continue the case to its conclusion. The directive appears to be based on a petition to that effect by Counsel for the defendant, on behalf of the defendant. A copy of the petition is attached to the directive. It was expected that the plaintiff or his counsel would be served a copy of the petition and the directive. That appears not to have been the case. A photocopy of the directive is on the docket of the court. Plaintiff’s counsel may apply to the Registrar for a copy of same.”
Background
Investigative Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, commenced a defamation suit against Kennedy Agyapong for damages of Twenty-Five Million Ghana Cedis (GHS 25,000,000.00) after his Documentary Number12 attracted a plethora of attacks and accusations against him by the MP for Assin North. The writ filed in 2018 has witnessed three judges sit on it.
His Lordship Justice Daniel Mensah sat on it till late 2020 when Eric Baah, J.A took over the case until July this year. After the legal vacation, Gifty Addo J began to hear the case till the directive to give the case back to Eric Baah J.A became known to the plaintiff in open court in December.
The case has been adjourned to 16th and 17th December 2021 for Mr Agyapong to be further cross-examined.