A U.S. court has awarded celebrated Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas $18 million in damages after a jury unanimously found that former Ghanaian lawmaker Kennedy Agyapong defamed him in a 2021 podcast interview.
The Essex County Superior Court in New Jersey ruled that Agyapong’s claims—including calling Anas a “criminal” and falsely linking him to the 2018 murder of fellow journalist Ahmed Hussein Suale—amounted to defamation. The jury awarded $8 million in punitive damages as part of the total compensation.
The ruling marks a dramatic turnaround for Anas, who previously lost a similar defamation suit in Ghana. However, the US court accepted jurisdiction because the defamatory statements were made during an interview on the Daddy Fred Show podcast while Agyapong was physically present in New Jersey, where he owns property.
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Reacting to the verdict, Anas described the judgment as a victory for journalism and press freedom:
“This victory is not just for me, but for truth, press freedom, and every journalist who risks everything to expose corruption and wrongdoing.”
The court’s decision comes amid renewed interest in the 2018 murder of Anas’ colleague, Ahmed Suale, who was assassinated after helping uncover corruption in African football in a BBC Africa Eye exposé. Ghanaian police recently arrested a suspect alleged to have shared Ahmed’s images with a prominent politician prior to the killing.
Anas has pledged to continue his anti-corruption work despite years of threats and attacks on his credibility:
“No amount of intimidation or falsehood will silence the pursuit of accountability… Our work continues, undeterred and unafraid.”
Meanwhile, Agyapong’s legal team had argued that his remarks were mere opinion and should not be grounds for a defamation suit in the U.S., but the jury disagreed—making this ruling a major legal and symbolic win for investigative journalism.
