Kweku Baako vs Ken Agyapong defamation suit: Court of Appeal orders refund of GH¢80,000 damages paid to Baako, case going for retrial
The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr, has said the GH¢80,000 paid to him as damages by Kennedy Ohene Agyapong in the defamation suit he filed against him is still intact and "untouched" in the bank account of his lawyers.
He said this following a Court of Appeal ruling on Thursday, which said he should refund the money to Mr Agyapong.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Mr Kweku Baako wrote: “not a cedi or a pesewa” had been touched since the Court of Appeal gave its directive.
He explained that the money is still intact in his lawyers’ accounts in line with the court’s order.
The Court of Appeal on Thursday set aside the June 2020 High Court judgment in Kweku Baako's favour and ordered a retrial.
The appellate court directed Mr Baako should refund all sums received under the earlier judgment within 30 days.
Kweku Baako was awarded a total of GH¢130,000, made up of GH¢100,000 in damages and GH¢30,000 in costs.
Out of the amount, Mr. Agyapong paid GH¢80,000 before the appeal was determined.
According to Kweku Baako appellate court did not determine the substance of the defamation claim.
“The focus had always been on the retraction and apology for the defamatory allegations,” he wrote.
The dispute dates back to July 2018 in what Mr Agyapong, said about Kweku Baako on Net 2 TV, Oman FM, Adom FM and Asempa FM, which Mr Baako said was defamatory.
Mr Baako filed a defamation suit in October 2018, seeking GH¢25 million in general damages. In his statement of claim, he said that on occasions when programme hosts asked Mr Agyapong to retract the comments or provide evidence, he failed to do so.
He argued that the statements damaged his reputation in the eyes of right thinking members of society.
He asked the court to order a retraction and an unqualified apology and to place a perpetual injunction on Mr Agyapong and his agents to restrain them from further defamatory publications.
On June 26, 2020, the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare Botwe, ruled in favour of Mr Baako.
The court ordered Mr Agyapong to retract and apologise three times on the same platforms within 30 days. It also awarded GH¢100,000 in damages and GH¢30,000 in costs.
The defence challenged the High Court decision on several grounds, including the striking out of portions of Mr Agyapong’s witness statements at the Case Management Conference stage.
In its ruling on February 12, 2026, the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal in a unanimous decision.
The court set aside the High Court judgment, citing a statutory breach that it said went to the root of the case and rendered the earlier decision flawed.
According to the defence, details of the statutory breach are expected to be clarified in the full written judgment.
They maintain that the finding was enough to nullify the earlier decision and allow the case to be heard afresh.
