Award-winning investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has reacted to a U.S. federal judge reducing the $18 million defamation award granted by a jury against former Assin Central lawmaker Kennedy Ohene Agyapong to just $500.
According to Anas, the case was not about money, but about justice and truth.
The Judge reduced the $18 million defamation award following a motion for remittitur filed by Agyapong’s legal team.
According to reports Kennedy Agyapong’s legal team contested the size of the award, prompting the court to reconsider the amount.
The judge upheld the jury’s finding that Agyapong had indeed defamed Anas, he described the monetary compensation as “excessive” and reduced the damages to $500.
Speaking about the court’s decision, Anas stated, “Our victory is in the judgment and not the award. It is important to state, as I previously did, that this fight has not been about the money, but rather a fight for truth and justice.”
“I am happy that not a single allegation was proven against me in court when Kennedy Agyapong was given full opportunity to substantiate”
“I will continue in my relentless fight against corruption—and in doing that, continue to name, shame, and jail”, he added.
A Superior Court of New Jersey awarded investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas $18 million in his defamation suit against former member of parliament Kennedy Agyapong and Social media commentator Frederick Asamoah.
The court judgement comes after a legal battle over alleged defamatory statements made by Kennedy Agyapong during a 2021 interview.
Anas filed the lawsuit on May 17, 2022, in the Essex County Superior Court, accusing Kennedy Agyapong and Frederick Asamoah.
He accused them of a false and damaging statement made during an episode of “The Daddy Fred Show”.
Kennedy Agyapong during the show made a series of false claims, including accusing Anas of being a criminal, a thief, and responsible for the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Suale.
Ahmed Suale was tragically shot and killed in a ride-by shooting near his home in Madina, a suburb of the capital, Accra after Kennedy Agyapong’s utterances.
It is believed that the 31-year-old Ahmed was assassinated due to the investigative work he did with the Tiger Eye PI team and Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
The court documents highlighted several specific allegations Kennedy Agyapoang made against Anas, falsely claiming that Anas had been convicted of crimes in Ghana, and accusing Anas of orchestrating Ahmed Suale’s murder. Asserting that Anas was responsible for the deaths of multiple Chinese nationals in Ghana and labelling Anas as a thief.
Meanwhile, A member of the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong’s team, Wofa Jerry has stated categorically that the former MP will not pay any amount in the US$18,000,000 awarded to investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
According to him, Anas and his team breached some procedural rules and confidently added that Anas would end up paying more than $18,000,000 in damages to Kennedy Agyapong.
See the post below:
Judge reduces the $18 million defamation award granted to Anas against Kennedy Agyapong to $500… #GHOneNews #EIBNetwork #GHOneTV #NewsAlert pic.twitter.com/T7nDiWlnUH
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) May 12, 2025