Can’t be impartial in Adu Boahene’s investigation
The legal victory of Kennedy Agyapong, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful against undercover journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, might have enormous ramifications on some high-profile cases and even derail the work of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, led by Kissi Agyebeng, who could be slapped with a conflict of interest claim.
Behind the scene probes by The Herald into the Anas vs Kennedy Agyapong judgment, have revealed the involvement of the current Special Prosecutor, Mr Agyebeng, as the lawyer who in June 2018 on behalf of Anas brought the GH¢25 million defamation suit against the vociferous legislator.
Mr Agyebeng, has not only been a lawyer for Anas and his profit-making investigations company, Tiger Eye, but the two of them have been bosom friends for years and are into another profit-making venture; Cromwell Gray LLP, a private law firm owned and managed by Mr Agyebeng, until his appointment as Special Prosecutor in 2021. Anas is a partner in the law firm.
Interestingly, the OSP, is currently investigating an ex-Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen on the latest work of Anas and his Tiger Eye PI team dubbed, “Galamsey Economy.”
The minister, was in November, last year, asked by the President to resign for accepting some US$40,000 cash from Anas and his colleagues, who had posed as Arabian investors and lured him into a Dubai hotel under the pretext of setting up a bank in Ghana.
The Herald’s findings are that Mr Agyebeng, sued Ken Agyapong on behalf of Anas, but had to abandon the case midway for Odei Krow, Samuel Appiah Darko alias Sammy Darko and Sadat Sugri Laryea for the Special Prosecutor’s job, following the shocking resignation of Martin Amidu, after his investigations into the Agyapa Royalties scandal.
Ken Agyapong, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central on Wednesday, March 15, told journalists that President Nana Akufo-Addo, must apologize to the ex-Minister of State, insisting that Mr Adu Boahen’s dismissal as a result of Anas’ “Galamsey Economy,” was unfair and unjust.
Anas with his lawyer, Kissi Agyebeng, had gone to the High Court asking to be awarded aggravated damages to the tune of GH¢25 million arising from defamatory materials published by the MP.
Weeks before, the MP had, been publishing materials in a bid to discredit the journalist, who had then released a video piece on the rot in Ghana football in which he was mentioned by the then President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyatakyie as someone who must be given some money to keep him quiet.
The GFA boss, was captured receiving some cash from a man posing as an Arabian investor interested in investing in Ghana, especially road construction.
The Daily Graphic’s Mabel Aku Baneseh on Jun – 09 – 2018, in an article published by its website reported that “displeased with the MP’s actions, Anas has, through his lawyer, Mr Kissi Agyebeng, sued Mr Agyapong for the award of general damages for defamation in the defendant’s publications.
“A journalist, Mr Listowell Yesu Bukarson, has been granted the lawful attorney to stand in for Anas.
“The publication complained of a May 29, 2018 live programme in Twi on Adom TV, where Mr Agyapong, categorically stated that Anas was a blackmailer, corrupt, an extortionist and evil.
“According to the statement of claim, the defendant, in a similar manner, published defamatory words on May 31, 2018 via Oman FM, a private radio station owned by the defendant.
“The statement of claim also stated that the defendant published more defamatory materials against the plaintiff via other platforms to the extent of releasing pictures purported to be those of the investigative journalist in his bid to blow the latter’s cover.
“The plaintiff complained that in consequence, his reputation, especially as a lawyer and globally acclaimed investigative journalist, has been egregiously damaged resulting in debilitating distress and embarrassment.
“Further, he has been inundated with numerous calls from business associates, journalists around the world, social relations, friends, outright strangers, and he has had to answer very mortifying questions,” the statement of claim said.
It said the defendant published the words complained of knowing them to be false and reckless.
It further pointed out that the defendant published the false and reckless statements to benefit him as a politician, as well as to direct traffic to his media channels.
“The defendant, the plaintiff said, incited the public against him by asking that he be lynched.
“The defendant knew that once the publications were made, they would be culled and reproduced on the websites of media houses and accessible to countless numbers of persons worldwide.
“It continued that “the defendant well knew that once the words complained of were published on the World Wide Web, they could and would be accessed by a substantial but unquantifiable number of subscribers to the Internet around the world.”
“According to the plaintiff, the defendant knew and intended that his publication of the words complained of should be so published and republished and/or such publication and republication was the natural and probable consequence of his publication and for that reason could be inferred that a large but an unquantifiable number of users read the defendant’s publications, adding “the statement of claim said the MP was malicious in his publication of the words complained of.
“Anas further argued that Mr Agyapong was persistent and emphatic as to the purported criminality, undesirability and dishonesty of the plaintiff.
“The defendant persisted and insisted that the falsehood he was knowingly peddling was the truth.
“The defendant was persistent and emphatic that he had in his possession the evidence to shore up his publications,” adding that “the defendant calculated the publication to disparage the plaintiff in his trade, business and profession.”
Nearly four years later, the Judge, Justice Eric Baah, described Anas’ work as not being investigative journalism, but investigative terrorism.
Mr Agyapong, told journalists after the ruling that Charles Adu Boahen, was treated unfairly.
“I think the NPP, President Akufo-Addo and the Vice President should apologize to Adu Boahen for what they have done to him, because of a simple thing that Anas did. They have disgraced Adu Boahen and based on the judgement, the President must apologize to him. They cannot sacrifice innocent people like that”.
In a lengthy ruling, Justice Eric Baah held that the plaintiff [Anas Aremeyaw Anas] failed to prove that Kennedy Agyapong defamed the investigative journalist by airing the documentary – “Who watches the watchman”.
The court further held that Agyapong provided sufficient evidence to prove that the plaintiff used the findings of his work to solicit money from persons implicated in the evidence gathered by him.
The evidence, according to the court, also proved that those who were able to pay the sums of money demanded by Anas and his associates got exempted from videos that were shown to the public.
The court concluded that what Anas engaged in was not investigative journalism but rather investigative terrorism.
“I find the claims by the plaintiff [Anas Aremeyaw Anas] meritless, and they are hereby dismissed,” Justice Baah ruled.
In November 2022, the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, terminated the appointment of Charles Adu Boahen, with immediate effect.
A statement from the Director of Communications at the Jubilee House, Eugene Arhin indicated that the President took the decision after being made aware of the allegations levelled against the Minister in the exposé dubbed, “Galamsey Economy.”
The dismissal was even before the airing of the documentary that allegedly captured Mr. Adu Boahen, asking the self-styled Arabian investor to pay an amount of US$200,000 to enable a meeting between him and the Vice President which investor who turned out to be the investor called “an appearance fee”.
Mr Adu Boahan, was alleged to have told the undercover investor that he should promise the Vice President to employ some of his relatives to enable his investment to kick off early.
But in a Facebook post, Dr Bawumia, called for the Minister to be summarily dismissed and investigated. The President also referred the matter to the Special Prosecutor for further investigations.
The Herald’s investigations after the “Galamsey Economy”, was aired, revealed that Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye PI team, bought air tickets and made a hotel arrangements for Mr Adu Boahen and his lawyer, said to be a traditional ruler into a meeting in Dubai.
The meeting, which was facilitated by one Solomon Amponsah, an official of the Ministry of Finance, had Mr Adu Boahen, pulled to Dubai on his way to Singapore in April 2018, after persistent calls.
He, however, decided to go with the lawyer, who could listen to the supposed Arabian investors to help them with legal requirements of setting up a business in Ghana.
The Arabian investors turned out to be Anas, who had dressed as a Sheik and discussed establishing an Islamic investment bank in Ghana with Mr Adu Boahen.
In the conversation, the Minister mentioned the Vice-President, as a Muslim, who would be interested in an Islamic Bank and would be willing to assist in setting it up.
After the meeting, Anas dropped US$40,000 on a table to be picked up by Mr Adu Boahen, and said it was for “shopping”.
The same amount was given to the traditional ruler who is also a lawyer, for his legal fees. The money, just like that of the minister, was dropped on a bedside table to be picked by the lawyer. The two were given polythene bags to hold the money.
The April 2018 meeting between Adu Boahen and Anas in Dubai which bore resemblance with the GFA matter, dubbed “Number 12”, was recorded and later shown in November 2022, a bribe payment session and the Vice-President portrayed as a kickback collector.
It turned out that Solomon Amponsah, was approached by the late Ahmed Hussein-Suale, in the name of the supposed Arabian investors.
Ahmed Hussein-Suale, was murdered in Madina – Accra on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 by unidentified men on motorbikes, who shot him three times, twice in the chest and once in his neck in his vehicle.
On the “Galamsey Economy”, there have been strong suspicions in the Akufo-Addo government that the NPP MP, who is said to have a running contract at the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, which the Akufo-Addo government had been seeking to terminate, dished out huge sums including the US$80,000 for the filming of Mr Adu Boahen.
Days after the video Galamsey Economy was shown, The Herald, learnt that Kennedy Agyapong, had long obtained the unedited version of the video and was likely to show it. He was said to have bought it from one of Anas’ men, who had also made it public to Charles Adu Boahen, two years earlier.
It has since been branded an entrapment. It is not clear if these sequence of events; the entrapment, the leakage of the video, claims of blackmail and extortion had anything to do with the gruesome murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale who was Anas’ right hand man.
